Qualcomm has made a name for itself by building the silicon that powers some of the best Android phones you can buy. Now the chipmaker is focusing its efforts on its own phones that aim to show off the capabilities of its top-of-the-line Snapdragon chipset. [Boasting the Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip, extensive 5G connectivity, and the kind of experience you'd expect from a premium smartphone, it will be manufactured by Asus and released in August.

Qualcomm claims that it does not intend to enter the phone business with the announcement of a smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders. Instead, the phone is designed exclusively for Qualcomm's Snapdragon Insider program, a community of mobile enthusiasts that the company launched earlier this year. Qualcomm hopes to use the phone to get feedback on the experience that mobile users want from Snapdragon-powered devices.

Participation in the Snapdragon Insider program is free, but the smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders is obviously not free. It is priced at $1,499, $300 more than Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra (which also has the Snapdragon 888 chipset). Qualcomm includes Master & Dynamic's wireless earbuds with noise cancellation, a 65W charger, a braided cable to charge both the earbud case and the phone, and a custom rubber bumper.

As for the phone itself, it would be a mistake to consider the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders a beautified reference device. Design is clearly not the main focus of this phone, but the midnight blue color and red accents around the rear camera array and side buttons make it look solid enough. There is a 6.78-inch OLED display protected by Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and a fingerprint sensor on the back. [The star of the show is the Snapdragon 888, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage; the Snapdragon Insider smartphone comes just in time for Qualcomm to roll out its improved Snapdragon 888 Plus chipset.

Still, the performance of the Snapdragon 888 is no less impressive, and Qualcomm expects the phone to highlight the various components included in this piece of silicon. For example, the Snapdragon 888 features the Spectra 580 image signal processor, a triple ISP that can capture images from three different cameras simultaneously. Not coincidentally, the smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has three rear lenses: a 64MP main shooter, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and an 8MP telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom. According to Qualcomm, the phone can shoot both 8K and 4K video.

The OLED screen features a 144 Hz refresh rate, and to make it even more attractive to gamers, the phone supports Qualcomm's Quick Touch, which improves screen responsiveness by 20%. It also supports variable rate shading as part of Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite Gaming feature.

The Snapdragon 888 is powered by Qualcomm's 6th generation AI engine capable of 26 trillion operations per second (TOPS). In addition, this smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders is one of the first devices to support Snapdragon Sound, a new technology that promises 24-bit 96 kHz music streaming. Snapdragon Audio also supports Super Wideband Audio, which improves sound during calls.

5G connectivity is also a top priority feature of the smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders, as Qualcomm is heavily invested in the growth of 5G networks. The phone features a Snapdragon X60 modem, which provides extensive support for both 0-6 GHz and mmWave-based 5G bands. Qualcomm promises the world's fastest available 5G transmission speeds with this phone, which also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6e.

Qualcomm says 1.6 million people have joined the Snapdragon Insider program since its launch in March. Qualcomm hopes to generate enough interest in smartphones for Snapdragon Insider to learn more about the features people want in their next mobile device.