Qualcomm Debuts Its Snapdragon 835, The First 10-Nanometer Processor, At CES 2017

Qualcomm says that its newest processor, the Snapdragon 835, is the first chip running on 10-nanometer technology.

The mobile chip manufacturer, which lifted the curtain on its latest processor Tuesday during "media day" at CES in Las Vegas, said that the 10-nanometer technology enables processors to be smaller but more powerful.

"The Snapdragon 835 is the first 10-nanometer processor," Keith Kressin, SVP of product management at Qualcomm, told the CES audience. "We're accelerating at an exponential pace, so that algorithms for detecting malware or facial recognition can be done as efficiently as possible."

Qualcomm says that its newest chip, which succeeds the 14-nanometer Snapdragon 820 that was launched at last year's CES, has made vast improvements, most notably in battery life and virtual reality capabilities.

Regarding battery life, the Snapdragon 835 features Qualcomm's new QuickCharge 4.0 standard, which touts a 20 percent improvement in speed and a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency. Qualcomm boasts that the new charging technology will rack up five hours of battery life in only five minutes of charging.

On the virtual reality side, the Snapdragon 835 features faster 3D graphics and 60 times more colors. While the Snapdragon 820 has powered smartphones that support virtual reality, Kressin said the Snapdragon 835 would appear in next-generation virtual reality headsets.

As a preview, Qualcomm showed off newly-announced ODG R-8 virtual and augmented reality smart glasses, the first Snapdragon 835-based headset.

Kressin said that the Snapdragon 835 is currently in production, and the first devices based on the processor will be shipping in the first half of 2017.