- Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 7 Gen 1
- New flagship SoC promises 30% more power consumption
- Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 positioned to face rivals Dimensity and Exynos
Alongside the new 8+ Gen 1, Qualcomm also unveiled the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, a new platform for its new mid-range processor and XR device this year: the confusingly named Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1: flagship evolution
The main announcement is undoubtedly the new high-end Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. As the name suggests, the new SoC is an improved version of the chip announced late last year and found in most flagship Android phones in 2022. .
Qualcomm managed to extract 10% of the performance from the fastest Android SoC out there, both at the CPU and GPU levels. What’s more, the overall power consumption and graphics processing efficiency of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is 30% higher than that of its predecessor.
According to Qualcomm, gamers can expect an extra 60 minutes of gameplay compared to the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 / © Qualcomm
Such efficiency gains are unheard of in Qualcomm’s “+” models, which typically offer only slight overclocking while maintaining (or worsening) power consumption. Likewise, the part number (or codename) has been bumped up significantly from SM8450 to SM8475, instead of the usual “AB” or “AC” suffixes, as in the Snapdragon 865s. + and 870 (SM8250-AB & AC, the original SM8250 adopted by the original 865).
Since the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 still uses a “4nm” manufacturing process, the efficiency gains and codename changes clearly show that Qualcomm is moving from Samsung foundry to TSMC as a manufacturing partner.
Better power efficiency will not only improve battery life, but it will also solve the thermal throttling and overheating issues that will be present in many high-end smartphones in 2022.
Unfortunately, the bezel-less design used in the reference platform is unlikely to be commercialized / © Qualcomm
As for specs, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 uses the same processing module as the regular model, with eight CPU cores, Adreno GPU, Snapdragon X65 5G modem, uplink support up to 10 Gbps, Wi-Fi 6E and Spectra graphics processor ( ISP), which can process photos up to 200 megapixels.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 will be featured in smartphones scheduled to launch in Q3 2022, including ASUS, Black Shark, Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, Oppo, Osom, Realme, RedMagic, Redmi, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE are basically brands that are not called Apple, Sony or Samsung.
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1: improvements for gaming and photography
For the mid-range SoC market, Qualcomm will offer the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC, the successor to the popular 778G and 768G processors. The work on the middle chip is tough, and models from rivals MediaTek and Samsung have become very competitive in this area.
To meet market demand, the 7 Gen 1 promises 20% faster gaming performance than the 778G thanks to the (unnamed) Adreno GPU. Also worth noting is the ISP upgrade, which can now take photos up to 200 megapixels, or from three different cameras simultaneously.
Qualcomm chose to emphasize the improved gaming performance of the Snap 7 Gen 1, but did not mention the higher efficiency / © Qualcomm
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is also compatible with 5G networks—up to 4.4 Gbps downlink—and its wireless capabilities include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
The new mid-range processors are manufactured on an undisclosed 4nm process, and phones powered by Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 will launch in the second quarter of 2022 from brands like Honor, Oppo, and Xiaomi.
Metaverse-oriented Snapdragon XR2 platform
The hype around Metaverse continues, with Qualcomm also announcing its Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 reference design. While not a consumer device, it looks like this model will be rebranded and sold by the OEM with 40% slimmer and better weight distribution.
The XR2 concept wirelessly shares processing with a smartphone / © Qualcomm
Unlike the chunky square bezels we’re used to seeing in the VR/AR space, the reference design is closer to a sleek AR concept.
To do this, the glasses are paired with a smartphone using 5 or 6 GHz Wi-Fi to offload computing tasks to receive rendered frames. This not only saves space in the SoC components, but also reduces battery consumption.
Qualcomm is sampling a Snapdragon XR2 reference model to interested partners, and the company plans to release products based on the model in the coming months.