There have been a number of articles recently referring to Qualcomm’s two latest Snapdragon mobile platforms.

These are the 2 platforms 7 Gen 1 (Post1) and 8+ Gen 1 (post2)(post3). What exactly is the status of these two new Snapdragon platforms?

I will start by introducing the first platform, the 7 Gen 1.

Its place in the hierarchy means that it would be aimed at the mid-high end of the market. Indeed, the Snapdragon 7 is synonymous with the gateway, as it is less fast and less expensive than the version 8, and can easily be found in mid-range and high-end smartphones, priced between 550 and 800€ (45 498,76 - 66180,01 INR)

This allows manufacturers to offer excellent performance in non-premium products. This is an important chip in Qualcomm’s range, because with this new nomenclature, it can take on a premium appearance. But what exactly is it?

This new model brings a number of new features. What are their?

Simply put, it is already more powerful than its predecessor, the 778G, thanks in part to its new GPU, the Adreno 662.

This, according to Qualcomm, makes it 20% more powerful! Still according to Qualcomm, the addition of the Adreno Frame Motion Engine will allow the 7 Gen 1 to double the Framerate in game mode, without consuming more power, which would be interesting for big players!

Concerning the tasks related to the A.I., it is announced 30% more effective than the 778 G. What lets think that with the integration of the technology “deep learninig face detect”, its 30% are not of too much!

That’s not all, because Qualcomm specifies that this allows the new platform a better management of the autofocus, to be able to manage sensors of 200 Megapixels, or to be able to use at the same time, if the smartphone is equipped with it, of several photo modules (3 in this case).

For video fans, it will be able to support 4K HDR captures.

For the connectivity side, this one is well equipped with the integration of the 5G modem "Snapdragon x62 5G modem-RF Sytem, which supports Wi-fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 and can deliver speeds up to 4.4 Gbps.

The list of smartphones that will be equipped with it should be known by the end of June. OPPO (with the Reno 8 series), Xiaomi and Honor are already on the list.

You can click on the following link to get all the technical specifications of the 7 gen 1 and the comparisons

Related discussions

Now let’s move on to the new Snapdragon 8+ gen 1 platform. What does it add?

First of all, Qualcomm’s “plus” variants are not revolutionary platforms, but they incorporate more or less minor improvements, mainly better CPU and GPU performance and better power consumption.

This version is no exception, as according to the brand, this platform offers a real powerhouse with improvements and performance for high-end and premium smartphones. This would only be available in Q3 2022…. (I can already see some people starting to wonder).

So what does this “Plus” variant offer?

First of all, for gamers, the full suite of Snapdragon Elite Gaming features. That is, ultra-fluid responsiveness, colourful HDR scenes, very high visual quality and office capabilities (yes, you can use your phone for work too).

As for the Adreno GPU, it has been improved to bring 10% faster speeds and a 30% reduction in power consumption. This means up to 60 minutes more game time.

The latest Sanpdragon Sight technology brings 8K HDR video recording, using the premium HDR10+ format. The 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine delivers up to 20% better performance.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1: Specifications

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 CPU

  • 1x Kryo (ARM Cortex-X2-based) Prime core @ 3.2GHz, 1MB L2 cache

  • 3x Kryo (ARM Cortex A710-based) Performance cores @ 2.8GHz

  • 4x Kryo (ARM Cortex A510-based) Efficiency cores @ 2.0GHz

  • 10% faster CPU performance

  • 30% more power-efficient

GPU

  • Adreno GPU

  • Vulkan 1.1 API support

  • Adreno Frame Motion Engine

  • HDR Gaming with 10-bit color depth and Rec. 2020 color gamut

  • Physically Based Rendering

  • Volumetric Rendering

  • Hardware-accelerated H.265 and VP9 decoder

  • 10% faster GPU clock speeds

  • 30% GPU power reduction

Display

  • Maximum On-Device Display Support: 4K @ 60Hz/QHD+ @ 144Hz

  • Maximum External Display Support: 4K @ 60Hz

  • HDR10 and HDR10+

  • 10-bit color depth, Rec. 2020 color gamut

  • Dumora and subpixel rendering for OLED Uniformity

AI

  • Qualcomm Hexagon Processor

    • Fused AI Accelerator
    • Hexagon Tensor Accelerator
    • Hexagon Vector eXtensions
    • Hexagon Scalar Accelerator
    • Support for mix precision (INT8+INT16)
    • Support for all precisions (INT8, INT16, FP16)

  • 3rd generation Qualcomm Sensing Hub

    • Always on

    • Always secure

  • Up to 20% better performance/watt than predecessor

Memory LPDDR5 @ 3200MHz, 16GB ISP

  • Triple 18-bit Spectra 680 ISP

    • Up to 3.2 Gigapixels per Second computer vision ISP
    • Up to 36MP triple camera @ 30 FPS with Zero Shutter Lag
    • Up to 64+36MP dual camera @ 30 FPS with Zero Shutter Lag
    • Up to 108MP single camera @ 30 FPS with Zero Shutter Lag
    • Up to 200 MP photo capture

  • Video capture: 8K HDR @ 30 fps; Slow motion up to 720p@960 fps; HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision

Modem

  • Snapdragon X65 5G Modem

  • Downlink: Up to 10Gbps

  • Modes: NSA, SA, TDD, FDD

  • mmWave: 1000MHz bandwidth, 8 carriers, 2×2 MIMO

  • sub-6 GHz: 300MHz bandwidth, 4×4 MIMO

Charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Connectivity
Location: Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS, QZSS, NavIC capable

Wi-Fi: Qualcomm FastConnect 6900;
Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6; 2.4/5GHz/6GHz Bands; 20/40/80/160 MHz Channels; DBS (2×2 + 2×2), TWT, WPA3, 8×8 MU-MIMO

Bluetooth: Version 5.3, aptX Voice, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, and LE audio

Manufacturing Process 4nm TSMC

Source: xda-developers
a year later
4 months later

Is Beidou on for phone 2? I am not seeing it in GPS test but do see it on other phones that I have.