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Sharper, clearer phone graphics? Meet Snapdragon 805 (pictures)

In addition to making phones and tablets that use it faster, Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 805 chipset also makes images and graphics clear, sharp, and easier to manipulate than before.

Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Jessica Dolcourt
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4K resolution and more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Qualcomm's Snapdragon 805 chipset is the next big thing for top-tier smartphones and tablets, bringing higher-resolution everything to the screen, gaming, and photos. Here, a 4K resolution tablet is mirrored onto a 65-inch TV. In person, the right side of the screen (4K resolution) shows much more detail than the 1080p side on the left.

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Five times the focus

Phones and tablets using this chip could do some neat things with photography, like let you focus in five different areas of the screen after-the-fact.

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Depth map

This heat map actually segments the seashell image into five zones. Tap on any area within each zone to reset the focus.

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Better gestures

Another post-processing trick lets you select the subject you want to highlight (green) from the background (red.) You can use broad strokes, so you won't have to worry about leaving a limb behind.

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Go nuts with effects

After that, you can play around with background color...

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Keep experimenting

...grayscale...

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Filters galore

...and other wacky filters. You'll also be able to apply different focus points here.

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Gaming graphics

Graphics in the Adreno 420 GPU that pairs with the 805 processor ratchets up the detail in graphics as well, as seen on this animated image of a hornet. On the left, you see the insect, and on the right, you see the cramped polygons that signal the increased level of detail.

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Clearer text

4K resolution means that fine lines, text, and characters appear much sharper and easier to read.

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Side-by-side, kind of

In person, the 4K tablet on the left made it much easier to read the finely printed menu. However, the tablet on the right is already at a disadvantage for pixel density, since the screen is both larger and has a lower display resolution.

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