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Qualcomm’s SSI, High End Performance at a High End Price
The new "Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders (SSI)," a phone that Qualcomm built with help from ASUS boast high-end like a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, comprehensive 5G support, fast charging and special audio enhancements. It comes with a $1,499 price tag to showcase Qualcomm’s strengths, At 210 grams (or 0.46 pounds), it’s lighter than the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Galaxy S21 Ultra . The SSI also notably different from the iPhones and Galaxies with a rounded rectangle body that has a matte blue finish with shiny red accents on the camera bump and volume button. There’s a thin border above the screen where the sensor sits. That, combined with the silhouette and finish, make the SSI look pretty outdated.
The bump for the SSI’s triple-camera array on the back is a surprisingly compact horizontal row that’s neatly tucked away in the top left. It’s smaller and thinner than those on the Galaxy and iPhones, though it still protrudes enough that the handset doesn’t lie flat when you put it on a table.
The AMOLED panel Samsung has 2,448 x 1,080 pixels and a 144Hz clock, which is one of the fastest on modern smartphones. The display also offers a 1ms response time. Its peak brightness of 1,200 nits also makes for easy viewing under sunlight. It’s worth noting, though, that the 20.4:9 aspect ratio causes some content to be cut off — the ends of long messages in Telegram, for example, disappear into the edges of the screen.
The Master & Dynamic headphones were built using Qualcomm’s Bluetooth Audio SoC and will support high-res 24-bit 96kHz audio with active noise cancellation. Qualcomm also said these should stay connected to your phone even if there are lots of other RF devices around, so audio drop-outs should be minimal. The SSI has a trio of cameras on its rear. The 64-megapixel main sensor with f/1.8 aperture is accompanied by a 12-megapixel ultrawide option and an 8-megapixel telephoto.
The new "Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders (SSI)," a phone that Qualcomm built with help from ASUS boast high-end like a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, comprehensive 5G support, fast charging and special audio enhancements. It comes with a $1,499 price tag to showcase Qualcomm’s strengths, At 210 grams (or 0.46 pounds), it’s lighter than the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Galaxy S21 Ultra . The SSI also notably different from the iPhones and Galaxies with a rounded rectangle body that has a matte blue finish with shiny red accents on the camera bump and volume button. There’s a thin border above the screen where the sensor sits. That, combined with the silhouette and finish, make the SSI look pretty outdated.
The bump for the SSI’s triple-camera array on the back is a surprisingly compact horizontal row that’s neatly tucked away in the top left. It’s smaller and thinner than those on the Galaxy and iPhones, though it still protrudes enough that the handset doesn’t lie flat when you put it on a table.
The AMOLED panel Samsung has 2,448 x 1,080 pixels and a 144Hz clock, which is one of the fastest on modern smartphones. The display also offers a 1ms response time. Its peak brightness of 1,200 nits also makes for easy viewing under sunlight. It’s worth noting, though, that the 20.4:9 aspect ratio causes some content to be cut off — the ends of long messages in Telegram, for example, disappear into the edges of the screen.
The Master & Dynamic headphones were built using Qualcomm’s Bluetooth Audio SoC and will support high-res 24-bit 96kHz audio with active noise cancellation. Qualcomm also said these should stay connected to your phone even if there are lots of other RF devices around, so audio drop-outs should be minimal. The SSI has a trio of cameras on its rear. The 64-megapixel main sensor with f/1.8 aperture is accompanied by a 12-megapixel ultrawide option and an 8-megapixel telephoto.
The SSI delivers lackluster photos that paled in comparison to the Note 20 Ultra and Pixel 5’s. The Qualcomm phone’s images had a blue (sometimes green) cast and weren’t significantly sharper or clearer than the Pixel’s, which costs hundreds less. Google’s portrait mode is also superior, and it never failed to keep the lantern fly I was taking pictures of in focus. Meanwhile, the insect came out blurry in 90 percent of the shots on the SSI. Qualcomm expects a software update will cure these deficiencies.
It has a unique Auto Tracking mode. Qualcomm re-architected its AI engine to run machine-learning-based tasks better, and one of these features is an Auto Zoom tool in the camera. In the Auto Tracking mode, tapping on the viewfinder to designate a subject automatically adjust framing of the target. Qualcomm’s method will actually zoom in and out to give the selected subject the spotlight.
The 4,000mAh battery is sufficient for a day and a half, and sometimes more, which is in line with the Note 20 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and better than the S21 Ultra.
The 4,000mAh battery is sufficient for a day and a half, and sometimes more, which is in line with the Note 20 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and better than the S21 Ultra.