Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 is its fastest yet

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 processor is expected to debut in devices later this year and is faster than its predecessor.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 can be found in flagships like Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, the OnePlus 3, the LG G5, and the HTC 10, but all of those are to be outpaced by handsets released this year. The Snapdragon 821 is 10% quicker than its predecessor and runs at 2.4GHz.

Aside from delivering greater speeds, it’s expected that the Snapdragon 821 will offer improved battery life and better app performance.

This chip is expected to debut in smartphones and other devices in the second half of the year. It’s not intended to replace the Snapdragon 820; instead, it is designed to “complement and extend the competitive strengths" of its current tech, according to Qualcomm.

The chip manufacturer says that the Snapdragon 821 will be used for "mobile VR head mounted displays and other new devices," as well as the traditional array of smartphones and tablets.

Otherwise it’s keeping its cards close to its chest, but Qualcomm says "you can expect commercial devices powered by the 821 in the second half of 2016" and will release more information soon.