Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 GPU outperforms the Apple A9 chipset

It is that time of the year where Android smartphone buyers have to ponder over whether they should purchase a flagship smartphone right now, or simply wait for a new device. That is because we’re in the Q4 of 2015 and like every other Q4 in the past, news about newer and hotter chipsets surface to warm up those cold winters. And one such chipset, that plenty has been known about is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC. The successor to the problematic Snapdragon 810 chipset packs in new Kyro cores and that about all we had on it so far. But today there’s more news in the form of its Adreno 530 GPU, which is supposed to be 40 percent better in terms of graphics performance and cut down up to 40 percent in terms of power making efficient as well. But the news is clearly not about how good the GPU is, but about how it competes with the best that is out there as a source from China claims. And that would be the Apple’s A9 chipset that has been making headlines about how its defeats the current range of Android flagships with just two cores. According to the same source from China, Qualcomm’s newest GPU is faster than Apple’s A9 chipset that utilizes a PowerVR Series 7XT GT7600 (hexa-core). How fast? Well, it is about 10 percent and while that seems like a big difference, you have to consider than Apple is utilising chip design that has been designed almost a year ago. So while 10 percent is a big difference, comparing it will make little sense as Apple would already be working on its successor right now. Still then, Qualcomm actually seems to have won the battle of the GPUs, but for now this is simply a micro-blogger from China claiming it. We will have to check out the performance by ourselves when the next batch of Android flagship smartphones arrive next year, which should sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820.