Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 Platform Launched

Qualcomm simply held a launch occasion in China known as “Snapdragon Night time,” the place the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 platform was introduced.

The “plus” replace is a performance-kicker model of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 {hardware} platform and brings noticeable efficiency and energy effectivity enhancements.

These enhancements come from principally a two-pronged method to the chip’s growth. First, Qualcomm makes use of a new 4nm semiconductor course of at TSMC, which is even higher than the earlier Samsung’s 4nm one. Each platforms can be produced in parallel as a part of Qualcomm’s technique of producing diversification.

Secondly, the Qualcomm bodily design crew has had extra time to optimize the chip’s structure and inner datapaths which may have maxed up at increased frequencies. In consequence, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 reaches between 6% and 12% increased frequency clocks throughout varied models.

For context, the “bodily design” of the chip refers to how the transistors and wires are bodily laid out. On the similar time, the general logic of the design stays an identical to the unique model. Briefly, it’s higher constructed and manufactured.

These enhancements result in elevated efficiency, with Qualcomm claiming a 10% CPU efficiency increase, a ten% GPU clock improve, and a much-improved energy effectivity (efficiency per Watt): as much as 30%, says Qualcomm.

This product’s energy effectivity is awe-inspiring as we normally don’t see these numbers soar that a lot throughout the similar era. Utilizing much less energy for a similar process additionally reduces the warmth and improves sustained efficiency. It means real-world gaming/XR isn’t as throttled as a result of warmth build-up. The handset cooling system considerably impacts this as nicely.

I’ve had some hands-on time with a few Qualcomm’s growth handsets, and we noticed benchmark numbers in step with the claimed velocity enhancements.

This new platform will permit Qualcomm’s clients to construct ultra-premium merchandise with the very best Android efficiency and gross margins. You possibly can count on the standard OEMs akin to Motorola, Honor, Xiaomi, or OnePlus to construct merchandise primarily based on this new SoC (full specs within the official PDF).

Concurrently, Qualcomm launched the brand new Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 platform, which serves the Premium smartphone market (vs. Excessive-Finish).

The purpose is to deliver many high-end options to a cheaper price level, together with Gaming or Digital camera options which are extremely coveted and are differentiators from an OEM advertising perspective.

For instance, Qualcomm says that Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 can render 3D 20% sooner than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 778G. Additionally, the brand new chip can assist Digital camera seize of as much as 200 MP vs. 66MP earlier than). These are all very considerable positive aspects inside an analogous worth envelope.

Lastly, Qualcomm talked about throughout its briefing that its Body Movement Engine had been built-in into Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. It’s a {hardware} frame-interpolation characteristic that may improve the perceived video games FPS with out rising the graphics computations proportionally. It’s nice to protect battery life as nicely.

Filed in Cellphones. Learn extra about Processors, Qualcomm, Snapdragon and SoC.