The Snapdragon 875 is Qualcomm’s first 5nm chip and it will likely be unveiled in December.
While’s it’s not known why LG has decided against releasing a true flagship smartphone in the first half of next year, there could be two reasons behind this.
Qualcomm has steadily been increasing the price of its flagship chips, and the story is expected to be no different this year. This has already deterred some smartphone manufacturers from using 800-series chips and could be the reason behind LG’s supposed decision too.
Other than that, it might have something to do with LG’s new strategy. The tech behemoth’s smartphone wing has been bleeding money since time immemorial and it has shaken things up in recent times to achieve profitability.
Previously, the company used to release two flagship series a year: the G lineup in the first half and the V series in the second half.
This changed with the launch of the LG Velvet this year, which is a 5G-enabled phone powered by Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 765G SoC. The G series has been discontinued and the company has also launched the Explorer Project, under which it plans to release experimental devices with a differentiated form factor like the LG Wing.
LG’s next almost-flagship smartphone may feature the rumored Snapdragon 775G
Although LG seems to have no intention to release a phone powered by the Snapdragon 875 anytime soon, it has ordered the Snapdragon 775G in bulk.
The Snapdragon 775G will reportedly succeed the Snapdragon 765G. It will allegedly be based on a 6nm architecture, and it will have more in common with the Snapdragon 875 than other midtier chips out there. It will reportedly offer a 40 percent faster CPU and 50 percent better graphics performance than the Snapdragon 765G.
The company currently has an expandable phone in the works which it already has provided a glimpse of and it’s expected to land in H1 2021. It will likely be priced around $1,000 or more.
If you are not willing to shell out that much on a phone, the company will also likely launch a mass-market premium handset like the Velvet next year which will be priced between $599 and $999.
