Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 chipset is ready to power 2018's flagship phones

The Snapdragon 845 mobile platform was announced today at Qualcomm's tech summit in Hawaii, ready to usher in a new era of Android phones in 2018.

Its focus is on AI, improving imaging and bringing more power than ever to your smart devices, and we expect to see the first smartphones early next year.

Considering the Snapdragon 835 powered a majority of Android flagship phones in 2017, we expect to see many 2018 Android phones with the 845 at their heart. The Samsung Galaxy S9 could be the first considering Samsung is helping fabricate the new chip. 

However, the first announced smartphone (technically) is the next flagship from Chinese phone maker Xiaomi. It definitely won't be the last, of course.

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For now, we know little else as Qualcomm only briefly revealed the chipset's name on stage during its opening keynote presentation.

We're reporting live from Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, and we'll be bringing you everything you need to know on the firm's next generation flagship chipset throughout the week.

  • We’re reporting live from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, bringing you the latest news, features and hands on reviews on the future of smartphones, laptops, 5G and IoT. You can follow all our coverage here.
John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.