Qualcomm has unveiled two new chipsets to power high-end mobile phones, including its new top-tier offering: the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
The 8+ Gen 1 is one of Qualcomm’s typical mid-cycle refreshes, in this case upgrading on last December’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 .
The core of the chip remains unchanged, but the CPU’s prime core has been overclocked to 3.2GHz – up from 3GHz – resulting in a 10% increased in CPU performance. That’s matched by a further 10% improvement to the GPU, and both benefit from a 30% improvement to power efficiency.
Those upgrades won’t be enough to see the 8+ Gen 1 catch up to Apple’s A15 Bionic on pure performance, but should further cement Qualcomm as the dominant chip provider for high-end Android phones .
Brands including Xiaomi, Asus ROG, Realme, and Motorola have already committed to using the upgraded chip, which is expected to appear in the likes of the ROG Phone 6 , Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 , and Xiaomi 12 Ultra .
Alongside the 8+ Gen 1, Qualcomm also revealed the 7 Gen 1 – its first mid-range chip since the company adopted the new ‘Gen’ branding.
Like the 8+ Gen 1, this is a 4nm chip, and uses roughly the same CPU structure – though clocked slower at 2.4GHz on its prime core.
It’s powerful enough to drive FHD+ displays at 144Hz – or QHD+ screens at 60Hz; can record 4K HDR video at up to 30fps with up to 200Mp photo capture; and boasts gaming features like Variable Rate Shading, the Adreno Frame Motion Engine, and over 20% faster graphics rendering than last year’s Snapdragon 778G.
The 7 Gen 1 also comes close to matching Qualcomm’s flagship chips on networking, with both Wi-Fi 6E and 5G – both mmWave and sub6.
Qualcomm says we should expect to see the first phones featuring the 7 Gen 1 within Q2 – meaning between now and the end of June – while 8+ Gen 1 phones should arrive in Q3, from July through September.
Alongside the two phone chipsets, the company also revealed a new reference design for wireless AR smart glasses, to be powered by its Snapdragon XR2 chip.
Thinner and lighter than previous iterations , this headset itself won’t be sold to consumers, but is intended to be a blueprint for manufacturers as they work on the next generation of XR2-powered AR devices. Expect that market to heat up if and when Apple finally reveals its long-rumoured AR headset .
Author: Dominic Preston, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Previously Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming.
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