Earlier this year, we had some information pertaining to the unannounced Snapdragon 845 chipset, rumored to be Qualcomm's next flagship SoC. First reports had the chip using the 7nm process, which would have increased performance by 25% to 35% over the currently used Snapdragon 835 chip. But that rumor has since been spiked since the 7nm process won't be ready for mass production next year.
While the Samsung Galaxy S9 is rumored to be the first handset to use the Snapdragon 845, LG said back in May that it will use the chip inside its 2018 flagship model. This year, LG had to use 2016's Snapdragon 821 on the LG G6 since Samsung had tied up early production of the Snapdragon 835 for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+.
While the Snapdragon 845 has not been officially announced, it did manage to show up in a document filed at the ITC by Qualcomm for its complaint against Apple. The chip designer is asking for a ban prohibiting iPhone units from being imported into the U.S. As part of the documentation, Qualcomm provided a list of patented chipsets including the SDM845, which is the Snapdragon 845.
Both sides have filed lawsuits against each other. Apple claims that Qualcomm has demanded royalties that are too high and are undeserved. Qualcomm accuses Apple of interfering "with Qualcomm’s long-standing agreements with Qualcomm licensees that manufacture iPhones and iPads for Apple." Apple allegedly told contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Pegatron not to pay royalties to.Qualcomm.
