Qualcomm simply held a launch occasion in China known as “Snapdragon Evening,” 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 improvement. 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 will likely be produced in parallel as a part of Qualcomm’s technique of producing diversification.
Secondly, the Qualcomm bodily design group has had extra time to optimize the chip’s format and inside datapaths which may have maxed up at greater frequencies. Consequently, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 reaches between 6% and 12% greater frequency clocks throughout varied items.
For context, the “bodily design” of the chip refers to how the transistors and wires are bodily laid out. On the identical time, the general logic of the design stays similar to the unique model. In brief, it’s higher constructed and manufactured.
These enhancements result in elevated efficiency, with Qualcomm claiming a 10% CPU efficiency increase, a ten% GPU clock enhance, 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 often don’t see these numbers bounce that a lot throughout the identical technology. Utilizing much less energy for a similar activity additionally reduces the warmth and improves sustained efficiency. It means real-world gaming/XR isn’t as throttled as a consequence 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 improvement handsets, and we noticed benchmark numbers in step with the claimed velocity enhancements.
This new platform will permit Qualcomm’s prospects to construct ultra-premium merchandise with the very best Android efficiency and gross margins. You may anticipate the standard OEMs reminiscent of 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 carry many high-end options to a cheaper price level, together with Gaming or Digital camera options which can be extremely coveted and are differentiators from an OEM advertising perspective.
For instance, Qualcomm says that Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 can render 3D 20% quicker than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 778G. Additionally, the brand new chip can help Digital camera seize of as much as 200 MP vs. 66MP earlier than). These are all very considerable features inside the same 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 function that may enhance the perceived video games FPS with out growing the graphics computations proportionally. It’s nice to protect battery life as nicely.
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