Snapdragon 820 is finally here -- and it's inside a Letv smartphone (hands-on)
Qualcomm's speedy 820 processor makes its first handset appearance with a company you've never heard of.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset, a processor that's expected to appear in many of this year's flagship smartphones, made its debut inside a smartphone this year at CES.
But instead of debuting inside a high-end Motorola, LG or even a OnePlus handset, it instead made its kickoff inside the Le Max Pro by Letv -- a relatively unknown mobile company outside of its headquarters in China.
Originally an online video streaming company, Letv began its mobile phone ambitions only recently -- with the Le 1 Pro Superphone and the Le 1S. With the anticipated Snapdragon 820 chipset, however, the Le Max Pro's debut comes with Qualcomm's big name familiarity.
Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 820 is 40 percent more power efficient and has a 40 percent increase in performance compared to its predecessor, the 810. The 820 is also supposed to consume 60 percent less power than 801 chipset (an even older iteration in Qualcomm's mobile line of chipsets).
As for the Le Max Pro itself, the device features a fingerprint scanner on the rear and runs Google's latest mobile operating system, 6.0 Marshmallow. It also has USB Type-C, a new connection standard that promises to be faster and more efficient than the usual Micro-USB.
Its other specs include:
- 6.33-inch display with 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution (464ppi density)
- 21-megapixel rear camera
- Snapdragon 820 processor
- 32, 64 or 128GB of internal storage
- 3,400mAh battery with Quick Charge 2.0 Technology
- Google Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Though the hardware does look impressive, purchasing a Letv handset from a reliable or well-known retailer outside of China is another story. Though the company is prepping for an official US presence (it recently set up an office in Hollywood), its official online storefront doesn't currently sell smartphones. In addition, Letv has not released any pricing or availability information for the device as of yet.
For more information, click here for CNET's full coverage of CES 2016.
