According to a new rumor, the Snapdragon 888 chipset from Qualcomm will give the Samsung Galaxy S21 and other Android flagships great battery life and gaming performance. And it should heat up the iPhone 12’s lineup, whose staying power isn’t one of its better features.
Leaker Ice Universe recently tweeted encouraging claims about the power consumption and GPU of the Snapdragon 888, the chipset we find in the S21. It looks like great news for Android-oriented phone users who have been waiting to upgrade to a new flagship phone, albeit with a few caveats.
Galaxy S21 battery life versus iPhone 12
The benefits of better power consumption are clear, as a more economical 5nm chip means you can use your phone longer between charges. Combine that with the large batteries rumored to be in the S21 series (4,000 mAh, 4,800 mAh or 5,000 mAh for the S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra) and we should have some phones with excellent lifespans.
The power consumption of the Snapdragon 888 processor is excellent, the best performance in recent years. As with the Snapdragon 835, the GPU performance also exceeded expectations.December 17, 2020
If you look at the battery life of the iPhone 12 for the different models, it fell largely behind the Galaxy S20 series. The regular iPhone 12 lasted 8 hours and 25 minutes compared to 9:21 for the S20 on our 5G web surf test. The Galaxy S20 Plus lasted 10:31 am compared to 9:06 am for the iPhone 12 Pro. And the iPhone 12 Pro Max lasted 10:53, while the S20 Plus Ultra lasted an epic 12:03.
However, keep in mind that the S20 series delivered shorter run times when the 120Hz screen mode was on. The regular S20 was 21 minutes behind the iPhone 12, the S20 Plus about 10 minutes and the S20 Ultra 1 hour and 40 minutes. The S21 Ultra is expected to have a dynamic display, which would improve overall efficiency
So overall, the Galaxy S21 series should be able to outperform the iPhone 12 models on battery life.
Graphics boost for the Samsung Galaxy S21
In terms of GPU performance, the Snapdragon 888 promises an Adreno 660 GPU that should increase graphics speed by 35% over last year’s chip, improving power efficiency by 20%. The performance gains are the biggest to date for the Adreno GPU, which bodes well for gamers buying the Galaxy S21.
However, we are particularly interested in the game applications since Samsung partnered with Xbox in the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 to ensure support for Xbox Game Pass streaming. With access to all the brand new AAA titles Microsoft has to offer, the GPU boost will be invaluable to the S21’s smooth and beautiful gameplay.
According to the latest rumors, the Galaxy S21 will be released on January 14. The other new features to watch out for besides the Snapdragon 888 are the updated design and the S21 Ultra’s S Pen support and dual rear telephoto cameras that can zoom 3x and 10x.