Qualcomm still keeping a few details about their flagship SoC close to their vest

Along with their new mid-range processors, Qualcomm has also let slip a few details about their upcoming flagship processor, the 820. The company mostly gave a sneak peek at the connectivity suite that will be in the new SoC, and from what we’re seeing so far, the new chip promises to be the fastest one so far. The phone is armed with X12 LTE, capable of Category 12 LTE download speeds of up to 600Mbps, which is 33% faster than the peak download speeds of the X10 LTE modem on the company’s 810 processor.

As for the upload speeds, the 820 looks to be killer – as Qualcomm is saying that the new SoC is capable of Category 13 uplink speeds of up to 150Mbps, triple the performance of the Snapdragon 810 SoC.

Qualcomm is also proud to unveil a new tech that resides on the 820 – LTE-U. It’s a bit hard to explain, but essentially the new tech allows network operators like Smart and Globe to install small cells in areas that have higher than normal demand, but not enough to necessitate installing a whole new tower. Phones that have the tech can then take data from both the regular network towers and the small cells for improved speeds. Here’s the official explanation from Qualcomm:

LTE-U will allow operators to deploy small, compact cell towers called “small cells” (similar in size to a Wi-Fi router) in areas with a lot of demand for LTE data, for example in an airport, a mall, or at a crowded city street corner. When in range of those LTE-U small cells, phones using Snapdragon 820 with X12 LTE processors will be able to connect using at least two LTE connections: one in the operator’s regular licensed spectrum, and a new LTE connection in unlicensed spectrum. The two connections are bonded together using carrier aggregation to act like a bigger, faster connection.

The new processor is also smart enough to prioritize data coming in from your mobile network and your home internet connection, and can easily jump from one connection to the next to ensure a smooth flow of data in your device.

Devices with the 820 processors will come during the first half of 2016.