Companies in the content-streaming and entertainment sectors are adopting AV1 as a new video codec. Qualcomm, according to a recent report, is also joining the AV1 bandwagon. AV1, a next-generation video codec with enhanced compression algorithms and a royalty-free model, was created by the Alliance for Open Media.
Qualcomm said that starting with their next-generation flagship SoC, it would support the AV1 video codec (System-on-Chip). Qualcomm’s flagship chipset, the SM8550, will feature AV1 decoding in 2023, according to the newest rumor. Qualcomm is rumored to be working on a Snapdragon chip dubbed ‘SM8550’ that will support the AV1 codec.
Reportedly, the present Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has the code name ‘SM8450,’ while the suspected Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ with the model designation ‘SM8475’ is said to be in the works. The one with ‘SM8550’ might be Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is expected to be released in 2023, based on the naming pattern.
Snapdragon’s Adreno GPU, in particular, is responsible for this native AV1 functionality. Naturally, things might vary depending on market conditions and other variables. What’s more encouraging is that Qualcomm’s SVP Alex Katouzian noted earlier this year in an interview with Anandtech that “We haven’t been able to accept AV1 and we’ll most likely accommodate in the future, but we haven’t been able to do so thus far. It’s not that we don’t want to do it; it’s simply that we haven’t been able to plan it in enough time to make it happen.”
The Alliance for Open Media produced AV1 (AOMedia Video Codec 1.0), an open-source royalty-free video codec that includes Meta, Amazon, Netflix, Google, Microsoft, and Intel among its founding members. AV1 boasts superior video decoding efficiency, i.e., quicker video playing and streaming with increased visual quality at bit rates half that of H.264 (HEVC). So, while Qualcomm is taking its time implementing the AV1 codec, when it does, a substantial portion of the Android phone market will profit from it. And this is something we are looking forward to.