New Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 takes smartphone performance to the next level
Towards the end of 2021, Qualcomm announced their latest flagship chipset for 2022 in the form of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Last month, it was suggested that Qualcomm was expected to follow up with an upgraded version, and sure enough, they have as the company has since announced the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, but that’s not all.
In addition to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, Qualcomm has also taken the wraps off the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, giving mid-range devices a bit of a boost.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
The company claims that with these changes, gamers can look forward to as much as 60 minutes of more game time.
In addition to more power, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 will also be able to support 8K HDR video capture and the HDR10+ format, making your photos and videos more vivid. There is also the inclusion of the 7th gen Qualcomm AI Engine that can deliver 20% better performance per Watt which can help with image processing.
Also, with the use of the 4th-gen Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System, Qualcomm says that this should allow for 5.5 hours of longer talk time, or 25 minutes of WeChat video calls over 5G.
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8-series of chipsets are usually its flagships and are reserved for higher-end devices, but for those who typically shop for mid-range products, Qualcomm has not forgotten about you with the upgraded Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset.
This chipset will borrow some of the company’s Snapdragon Elite Gaming features, like the Adreno Frame Motion Engine that can double the framerate of games and upscales them while maintaining the same power consumption. Combined with the Adreno GPU, Qualcomm estimates that it should result in 20% faster graphics rendering, while supporting displays with resolutions of up to Quad HD+.
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 will also be able to support camera sensors of up to 200MP. This will allow users to capture staggered 4K HDR videos, and with Qualcomm’s Spectra triple ISP, it will let users capture from as many as three cameras simultaneously. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 will also use the 7th-gen Qualcomm AI Engine that can help with more accurate auto-focusing with its Deep Learning Face Detect system.
Also, for the first time in the Snapdragon 7-series, Qualcomm is adding support for a dedicated Trust Management Engine and Android Ready SE that will help protect the contents and information stored on the user’s device.
Availability
According to Qualcomm, the first Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 devices we can look forward to should arrive around Q3 2022 and from brands such as ASUS ROG, Black Shark, HONOR, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, OSOM, realme, RedMagic, Redmi, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.
As for the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, the first devices should be launching in Q2 2022 from brands such as HONOR, OPPO, and Xiaomi.