Qualcomm Snapdragon Insiders Smartphone Announced: Most Powerful Android Smartphone?

Qualcomm, the brand that usually supplies flagship SoCs for Android OEMs has now officially launched a phone of its own. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Insiders is the first smartphone from the company, designed and developed in collaboration with Asus. In terms of looks and feel, the device might not win any awards for sure, thanks to its mellowed-down design.

If we look at the specs sheet, there is nothing that special about the Qualcomm Snapdragon Insiders smartphone. In fact, it is not even based on the Snapdragon 888+, and still uses the Snapdragon 888. However, it does pack all the Qualcomm IPs that we might not see on other smartphones with this processor.

Snapdragon Insiders Smartphone Specifications

As said before, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Insiders is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage with no microSD card slot. The smartphone runs on Android 11 OS with stock UI, and the device will be free of bloatware, offering a clean user interface, just like other Android smartphones with stock Android OS.

The device boasts a 6.78-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution and a peak refresh rate of 144Hz. The display has some prominent bezels on the top and the bottom portion, similar to the ROG Phone 5, and it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The phone uses a 2nd Gen 3D Sonic Sensor like the Galaxy S21 series of smartphones. However, the sensor is on the back of the phone along with a self-illuminating Qualcomm logo.

On to the optics, the Snapdragon Insiders smartphone has a triple camera setup with a 64MP primary sensor (f/1.8), 12MP ultra-wide angle lens (f/2.2), and an 8MP telephoto lens (f/2.3) with 3x optical zoom support. there is a 24MP selfie camera at the front.

The Snapdragon Insiders smartphone comes with a 4000 mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 5. A 65W Quick Charge 5 charger can fully charge the smartphone from nothing in 50 minutes or charge up to 70 percent in 30 minutes.

Snapdragon Insiders Smartphone Box Contents

When most OEMs are even removing the charging brick from the box, Qualcomm does include a lot of accessories, including its own TWS with support for Snapdragon sound. Additionally, the retail package also includes a bumper case, Quick Charge 5 fast charger, and a USB Type-C cable.

Snapdragon Insiders Smartphone Pricing And Availability

The Snapdragon Insider Smartphone will be available in select markets, including India and the device is priced at $1499 in the US and Rs. 111,990 in India, making it one of the most expensive smartphones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC in the country.

Though there are a lot of smartphones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, most of them missout on some of Qualcomm's features, such as Qualcomm FastConnect 6900, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, Snapdragon Sound, Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2, Qualcomm aptX Adaptive, and multiple 5G band support, including mmWave.

Though it is a Qualcomm branded smartphone, it is actually manufactured and sold by Asus across the globe. In fact, even the software updates are handled by Asus, and it surprisingly looks similar to the ROG Phone 5. This is not meant for a general audience, as the name suggests, it is a phone made for enthusiasts, who might be willing to spend a bit more to get those additional features.