Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is Here: A New Era For Snapdragon

The Snapdragon 888 powers almost every flagship phone of 2021, like the Samsung Galaxy Note S21 Ultra. But Qualcomm is about the change the game. Introducing, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, that’s packs a way more powerful punch than its predecessor, taking on the recently announced Mediatek Dimensity 5000. The tech summit of Qualcomm in Hawaii introduced its new flagship snapdragon product on November 30, 2021. The newly announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 platform is one of the biggest upgrades in the history of upgrades.

With this new 5G mobile platform from Qualcomm, we’re talking about significant improvement in image processing, AI capabilities, gaming, and network connectivity. Read along to find just how much of an improvement Qualcomm is offering.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Overview

First thing’s first, Qualcomm has decided that Snapdragon will now function as a standalone brand. Yep, no Qualcomm prefix before Snapdragon now. And another major decision in the naming side of things is that the new flagship s will be classified as generations rather than numbers like Snapdragon 888 or Snapdragon 780. This makes Snapdragon mobile platforms easier to discover and choose.

Architecture

The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is built under Samsung Foundry’s 4nm process. It uses ARM’s V9 cores and the chipset has one Cortex X2 CPU core clocked at 3GHz. It also has three Cortex A710 CPU cores clocked at 2.5GHz. and four Cortex A510 cores that are clocked at 1.8GHz. Moreover, the L3 cache memory of this new chip has a 6MB storage capacity. Comparatively, this is 50% more than Snapdragon 888 which had a 4MP L3 cache.

Plus, this new chipset can work with a 3200MHz LPDDR5 quad-channel RAM (51.2Gbps memory bandwidth) and UFS 3.1 storage as well.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 ISP (Image Signal Processor)

This is possibly one of the best things about this new mobile platform from Qualcomm. The image processing capabilities of Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 are 4096 times better than before thanks to the three 18-bit ISPs on the new mobile platform.

This implies a lot of amazing things. For instance, the chipset will now be able to capture and process up to 30 images in a second. This in turn brings the Mega Night Mode where the best parts can be merged to create a stunning image, even in low lighting.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 can also capture 3.2 Megapixels of image data at once. And Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will allow for 8k HDR video calls.

Network Connectivity

Qualcomm has brought the world’s first 10 Gigabit 5g modem – RF solution. The Snapdragon X65 modem is compatible with mmWave and sub-6GHZ spectrum. Not only that, it uses 3GPP release 16 providing a maximum download speed of up to 10Gbps. Similarly, the upload speed peaks at 3.5Gbps.

This refers to a significant improvement in network connectivity and a more satisfying online experience. The phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 1 platform will now see smoother gaming performance and seemingly lossless call quality.

Also, the new Snapdragon flagship product is capable of bringing a true-to-life audio experience as it can stream lossless CD audio over Bluetooth. The platform supports Wifi 6 and 6E, Bluetooth LE audio.

Graphics And APU

With the 7th Gen Qualcomm AI engine of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform being 4 times faster than before. Smartphones can use the AI core to upgrade the resolution without having to rely on the brute force of the GPU. Speaking of which, the re-architected Adreno GPU offers 30 percent more power and 25 percent more efficiency compared to its predecessor.  And this also points towards improved frame rates as the APU can fill the missing frames as well.

Always on ISP

Qualcomm has decided to put an ISP core along with the 3rd Ge Qualcomm sensing hub. And this ISP is customized to consume almost 0 power. Meaning that your phone’s camera can read data all the time and automatically detect your face without having to touch it. This can also mean that when you’re not looking, the screen can turn off to save power. Truly amazing implications of this ISP but at the same time frightening because it raises security concerns as well.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Specifications

Smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Many brands are already working with Snapdragon to implement the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform into their devices. As such, 2022 is expected to be filled with smartphones powered by this new mobile platform. Some of the major ones to look out for are:

Xiaomi 12 Series

Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi told on the Qualcomm Summit that Xiaomi 12 Series will feature Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform. He also shared that Xiaomi 12 series smartphones will be the world’s first smartphones powered by the new chipset. However, Motorola’s Moto Edge X30 is also coming with the same claim so we’ll have to wait for the official news.

Realme GT 2 Pro

After the successful launch of Realme GT Neo 2, Realme GT 2 pro is also anticipated to feature the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It’s expected to be a premium phone with a price range above $800.

Oppo’s Find X3 Pro Successor

The name of the new flagship smartphone of Oppo remains unknown. Yet the company has confirmed that it will also feature Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform. Leaks and Rumors about the new Oppo’s flagship smartphone suggest that it could come with a 120Hz display and 80W fast charging.

Moto Edge Series

Ruben Castano, head of the Customer Experience at Motorola dropped the news that the new Moto Edge Flagship smartphone will launch in just a few days. We’re talking about a launch in China though. And this new Motorola phone is very much anticipated to feature Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Other brands will also launch new flagship smartphones in 2022 as well. So the new Oneplus smartphones, and the smartphones from Vivo, Sony, ZTE, and other brands are also expected to feature the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform.

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