The Samsung Galaxy S21 will have the powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset…that’s a big deal

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Samsung usually releases its yearly flagship refresh in January, which makes December the time we find out some of the inner workings as the Korean company files regulatory documents. The FCC filings for what’s believed to be the Samsung Galaxy S21 show that Qualcomm’s flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 888 will be powering the new handset.

That means Samsung might just be the first smartphone maker to release a handset using the new chipset, in front of a who’s who of the industry. We already know that ASUS, Black Shark, LG, MEIZU, Motorola, Nubia, realme, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE all plan to release models powered by the new chip.

So, we know the Samsung Galaxy 21 will use the Snapdragon 888 for the US model. We’ve not seen regulatory filings for other countries yet, but there’s every chance that Samsung will use its own Exynos chips, which historically get used outside of the US market.

READ MORE: Could the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor become a security nightmare for Android users?

That will create an interesting situation, as Samsung is using AMD’s tech for the GPU in the new Exynos line. Can that partnership outshine the Snapdragon, or will it be slightly slower, as the Exynos usually comes in just under the market leader? Can either chip rival the M1 chips from Apple?

Other minor snippets from the FCC filing are the presence of 9W reverse charging, so the handset can wirelessly charge your Samsung Buds and other headphones. That’s twice the charging power of the same system in the Galaxy S20 and Note 20, which will be welcome to anyone who uses it.

We won’t have long to wait until the official reveal, with January 14, 2021 rumored to be the date of the next Samsung Unpacked event.

What do you think? Are you interested in the Samsung Galaxy S21? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Samsung likely to join Apple in rightfully ditching the charger because I already have ten
• There’s a good chance that Samsung is scrapping the Galaxy Note range in 2021
• Apple’s new over-ear headphones are the $549 AirPods Max
• Samsung is the top-selling smartphone company in the world (again)

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.