After months of rumors and the company virtually confirming its existence in an FTC complaint against Apple in July, Qualcomm finally announced the next-generation Snapdragon 845 SoC at its annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii on Tuesday.
At the same event where launch partners Asus and HP revealed the first Snapdragon 835-powered devices running Windows 10, Qualcomm unveiled the successor to its current flagship chip, which is found in the majority of high-end handsets such as the Galaxy S8/S8 Plus and Note 8, Pixel 2/2 XL, and LG V30.
Details about the upcoming processor are currently thin on the ground, though Xiaomi's Lei Jun did take to the stage to announce that it would appear in the company's Mi 7.
"Xiaomi is committed to making devices that combine cutting-edge innovations in technology and beautiful design while defying price expectations, and we have chosen Snapdragon 845 to power our next flagship smartphone," stated Jun.
While the 845 is confirmed to appear in the Mi 7---set to launch in Q1 2018---Samsung may once again boast the first handset to use Qualcomm's top-tier chip. As was the case with the Snapdragon 835 and the Galaxy S8, the 845's first appearance could be inside the Galaxy S9. LG's G7, which is expected to arrive soon after Samsung's phone, is also said to use the upcoming SoC.
The Snapdragon 845 will no doubt be used in devices other than Android handsets, too. Future versions of Windows 10 on ARM laptops will likely feature the more powerful hardware, which could also be used in VR headsets in the same way as the 835.
More details about the Snapdragon 845 are expected to be revealed later today.