Qualcomm recently unveiled its shiny new Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip (SoC), which will appear in the next swathe of flagship Android handsets. However, there has been a significant omission, in the form of on-chip support for the AV1 codec. Considering the hype for AV1, a product of Google and Netflix’s work in the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), it is a baffling misstep. Speaking to CNET, Qualcomm VP of product management Judd Heape said that schedule and cost considerations meant AV1 couldn’t be implemented this time round. Heape said that upcoming designs would support it, but didn’t specify further. This means that the leading developer of Android silicon has not implemented a codec that was finalized in 2018, either because the…