Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 will come loaded in smartphones, VR headsets this year

More than 115 flagship smartphones and tablets out this year run Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 820 processor, but the company has dethroned the 820 for a new successor, the Snapdragon 821.
The Snapdragon 820 was already heralded for its speed and processing power when it was announced late last year — it has proven itself as the industry leader as it powers flagship devices like Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge, the LG G5, the HTC 10, and the Sony Xperia X.

But starting this fall, expect to see more devices packed with the Snapdragon 821, which Qualcomm says “delivers faster speed, improved power savings, and greater application performance.” To be a little more precise, the Snapdragon 821 offers a 10-percent performance increase over the Snapdragon 820.

Qualcomm ushers in the ‘next era of wearables’ with Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC

You’d probably expect a fledgling segment of the ever-growing tech industry to advance at a more rapid pace than fully mature, saturated markets, and while that’s been true in some aspects for wearable devices, most smartwatches have also worryingly stagnated in a key department.

Remember the 2014 LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live? Well, their sequels, threequels and spin-offs may look far prettier on the outside, and they’ve definitely gained a bunch of software tricks, a few being nowadays even capable of initiating and receiving voice calls by themselves.

But you know what the two fugly squares still share in common with the stylish circular Watch Urbane, Huawei Watch or second-gen Moto 360? Ancient Snapdragon 400 processors, exactly.

$483 for the Snapdragon 615 Oppo R7?

We’re already used to the idea that Oppo phones always have an added premium, but how to you guys feel about the possibility of $483 for the Oppo R7?

If you have seen the various photos and video’s of a borderless Oppo phone posted online then you have seen the Oppo R7. The R7 is set to be a slender magnesium phone with zero bezel design heading to launch later this month.

Specifications for the new phone include a 5-inch 1080p display, octacore Snapdragon 615 chipset, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, 2320mAh battery , 13 mega-pixel camera and a thickness of only 6.3mm.

If the leaks are anything to go by then it is a lovely looking machine with a beautifully crafted design, but it is going to be a little pricey.

Leaked images from an internal Oppo presentation show that Oppo intend to target the Huawei P8 with the R7 and will price the phone at 2999 Yuan (The P8 is 2888 Yuan). That’s roughly $483 for a Snapdragon 615 phone!