Realme ‘Race’ as well as Red Magic 6, Oppo Find X3, Nubia Z, and ZTE Axon 30 series are set to debut in the first quarter of 2021 with the newly launched Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. The smartphone manufacturers announced their launch plans shortly after Qualcomm unveiled the latest Snapdragon chipset as its new flagship 5G mobile platform. Alongside Realme, Oppo and ZTE, Xiaomi has also confirmed its plans to bring the Snapdragon 888-powered Mi 11 to the market “very soon.” The exact launch dates of the new smartphones are, however, yet to be revealed.
Realme ‘Race’
Following the announcement of the Snapdragon 888 SoC at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit 2020 on Tuesday, Realme announced its new flagship smartphone that is codenamed ‘Race’. The smartphone is claimed to provide an enhanced gaming, video, and communication experience alongside an upgraded 5G connectivity. Realme Vice President and India CEO Madhav Sheth also suggested India launch plans for the Realme Race.
“We are proud to be among the first smartphone manufacturers to come equipped with the Snapdragon 888 chipset. With this milestone we reaffirm our commitment to bring more 5G devices in India in 2021,” he said.
Official details about the Realme Race are yet to be announced. However, the phone was leaked by GSMArena on Tuesday with a model number RMX2202. It is said to have 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage and run on Android 11 out-of-box with Realme UI 2.0 on top. An image purportedly showing the phone was also posted online that hinted at a circular-shaped rear camera setup.
Red Magic 6
Specifically catering to mobile gamers, Nubia sub-brand Red Magic is planning to launch the Red Magic 6 series with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. Launch details about the Red Magic 6 series were revealed by Nubia President Ni Fei on Weibo. The new series is claimed to be the first gaming phone equipped with the Snapdragon 888 SoC. Moreover, it is likely to include an upgrade to the Red Magic 5G that debuted in March this year.
Red Magic 6 series based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC teased online
Photo Credit: Weibo
Oppo Find X3
Alongside the Realme ‘Race’ and Red Magic 6, Oppo is also planning to jump on the bandwagon and launch its Snapdragon 888-powered flagship in the first quarter of 2021. The company said in a press statement that it was planning to launch the next Find X series as one of the first 5G smartphone series powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.
“We are sure that the next Find X series will deliver an extraordinary all-round experience to users around the globe,” Oppo Vice President and President of Global Sales Alen Wu said.
Earlier this month, Oppo confirmed that the Find X3 series would arrive with a system-wide 10-bit colour support. This will come from a new full-patch Colour Management System that will bring support for High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF) and full DCI-P3 wide colour gamut.
Nubia Z
Nubia also announced on Weibo that it will launch its new Nubia Z series with the Snapdragon 888 SoC. The company already has a few models in its existing Nubia Z series. However, the new phones in the series are likely to leverage the faster performance of the next-generation Snapdragon chipset.
Nubia Z is set to arrive next year with the latest Snapdragon SoC
Photo Credit: Weibo
ZTE Axon 30
Nubia parent ZTE has also revealed its plans to bring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC to its new flagship smartphone series that it calls the ZTE Axon 30. The new series is claimed to provide an upgraded imaging experience powered by the new Qualcomm Spectra ISP, which is capable of capturing photos and videos at up to 2.7 gigapixels per second.
ZTE Axon 30 series is claimed to deliver an upgraded imaging experience
Photo Credit: Weibo
Other upcoming Snapdragon 888 smartphones
Aside from the aforementioned models, the Mi 11 is confirmed as Xiaomi’s next flagship based on the Snapdragon 888 SoC. Xiaomi Co-Founder and CEO Lei Jun announced the launch of the new Mi-series phone during a virtual keynote during the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit 2020 on Tuesday.
OnePlus is also bringing its new Snapdragon 888-powered flagship phone in the first half of next year, Design Director Hope Liu revealed through a video posted during the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit microsite.
“We believe that the technological innovation of this [Snapdragon 888] flagship platform in 5G, games, camera, and other aspects will contribute to the high-end flagship to be launched by OnePlus in the first half of next year,” Liu said.
The smartphone is likely to be none other than the OnePlus 9 that has been part of the rumour mill for some time now. It is expected to come alongside the OnePlus 9 Pro and the OnePlus 9E.
Vivo is also expected to have a new flagship in the works that will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. It could be the rumoured Vivo X60 Pro that is speculated to come with a curved display and run on Android 11 with OriginOS on top.
A listing on Geekbench surfaced with a model number Vivo V2056A suggests a Vivo phone based on the Snapdragon 888 SoC. It carried a motherboard codename “lahaina” that is believed to be associated with the new chipset. Also, the phone is likely to be either the Vivo X60 Pro or a model in the iQoo 7 series, as noted by 91Mobiles. The Geekbench listing of the Vivo phone suggested 12GB of RAM and Android 11 support.
Qualcomm highlighted that manufacturers including Asus, Black Shark, LG, Lenovo, Meizu, Motorola, and Sharp are amongst its key partners for the Snapdragon 888 SoC. We can, thus, expect more launch announcements in the coming days.
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