linux-drivers/
drivers/gpu/drm/msm/dsi

Qualcomm Snapdragon MIPI DSI display controllers

The MIPI DSI host controller block found inside Qualcomm's MSM, SDM, and SM-series Snapdragon mobile SoCs, responsible for driving the embedded display panels in phones, tablets, and similar devices. It covers a wide span of chips from older MSM parts up through current flagships like the SM8550 and SM8650 powering 2024-2025 Android handsets.

keep conf=0.94 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=gpu category=graphics-display
94%

recommendation

It should stay because this is the active display-panel interface code for current Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs, with new feature work (such as RGB101010 pixel format support) and stable bug-fix backports landing as recently as early 2026. Modern chips like the SM8550 and SM8650 rely on it, and Qualcomm is still shipping new Snapdragon 8 Elite platforms into flagship 2025 phones such as the Galaxy S25, so removing it would break a huge swath of current Android hardware.

repository signals

14 files
10,590 source lines
240 commits, 5y
+7,489 / −9,189 lines added / removed, 5y
48 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 240 total · active in 51/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 8 commits · +72 −18 2021-05: 3 commits · +2,485 −1,729 2021-06: 6 commits · +242 −53 2021-07: 10 commits · +270 −154 2021-08: 2 commits · +43 −10 2021-09: 5 commits · +93 −35 2021-10: 11 commits · +136 −198 2021-11: 1 commit · +7 −21 2021-12: 4 commits · +44 −22 2022-01: 5 commits · +130 −34 2022-02: 4 commits · +48 −10 2022-03: 2 commits · +167 −654 2022-04: 9 commits · +396 −10 2022-05: 4 commits · +39 −12 2022-06: 10 commits · +365 −398 2022-07: 4 commits · +115 −414 2022-08: 9 commits · +264 −476 2022-09: 3 commits · +27 −6 2022-10: 9 commits · +37 −88 2022-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-12: 5 commits · +135 −26 2023-01: 12 commits · +213 −99 2023-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-03: 7 commits · +266 −316 2023-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-05: 7 commits · +22 −68 2023-06: 11 commits · +162 −60 2023-07: 4 commits · +5 −3 2023-08: 3 commits · +35 −5 2023-09: 2 commits · +15 −4 2023-10: 10 commits · +98 −136 2023-11: 1 commit · +1 −1 2023-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-01: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-02: 2 commits · +35 −16 2024-03: 3 commits · +51 −67 2024-04: 6 commits · +713 −3,667 2024-05: 3 commits · +9 −1 2024-06: 3 commits · +39 −37 2024-07: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-08: 1 commit · +11 −1 2024-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-10: 2 commits · +2 −2 2024-11: 1 commit · +1 −1 2024-12: 3 commits · +28 −1 2025-01: 2 commits · +8 −4 2025-02: 13 commits · +161 −135 2025-03: 1 commit · +2 −1 2025-04: 3 commits · +60 −5 2025-05: 2 commits · +26 −0 2025-06: 7 commits · +185 −21 2025-07: 2 commits · +20 −44 2025-08: 5 commits · +57 −62 2025-09: 1 commit · +54 −0 2025-10: 1 commit · +2 −17 2025-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 3 commits · +41 −6 2026-02: 2 commits · +19 −17 2026-03: 1 commit · +23 −6 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Upstream work on this driver was still adding new functionality in March 2026 ('drm/msm/dsi: Add support for RGB101010 pixel format').

  2. lore.kernel.org

    The driver was receiving bug-fix backports in stable in March 2026 ('drm/msm/dsi: fix pclk rate calculation for bonded dsi').

  3. git.kernel.org

    The in-tree configuration table includes modern Qualcomm SoCs such as SM8550 and SM8650, showing the driver targets current Snapdragon display hardware families rather than only legacy chips.

  4. qualcomm.com

    Qualcomm was launching new flagship Snapdragon mobile platforms in late 2024, supporting the conclusion that Qualcomm mobile display hardware covered by this driver family was still entering new products for 2025.

  5. qualcomm.com

    Qualcomm announced Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy powering the Galaxy S25 series on January 22, 2025, evidence of new 2025 deployments of current Snapdragon-based devices.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Keep. lore_file_timeline on dsi_host.c showed heavy recent activity through 2026-03-25, including new feature work and stable backports; that is incompatible with deprecation/removal. kernel.org URL is canonical recall, used to confirm the driver still names recent SM8550/SM8650-era configs. Qualcomm URLs were obtained via web search on qualcomm.com and show new Snapdragon flagship devices/platforms shipping in 2024-2025, so the hardware class is still sold new. No natural replacement exists: this is the active Qualcomm DRM DSI path within msm DRM, not a superseded parallel driver.