Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 announced: 10% faster CPU and GPU, 30% improved power efficiency


Qualcomm just announced the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the company’s latest flagship Mobile Platform, as the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 as it had promised. This has power and performance enhancements compared to the predecessor.

The Snapdragon 8+ promises up to 10% faster speeds since the prime Cortex-X2 core is now clocked at 3.2GHz compared to 3GHz in the Snapdragon 8, and 30% power reduction in the CPU since this uses 4nm process technology by TSMC compared to Samsung in the predecessor.

This also promises 10% faster GPU performance. The company says that users can expect up to 60 extra minutes of gameplay with 30% GPU power improvements. Overall, the new chip promises 15% power savings in the SoC.

The 7th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine in the latest SoC, promises up to 20% better performance per Watt to enable ultra-advanced AI use cases across the board for intuitive, depth-defying interactions like legendary Leica Leitz bokeh effects, said Qualcomm.

It retains the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System, Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Mobile Connectivity System for Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3.6 Gbps, over Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (SM8475) specifications
  • 1 x Kryo Prime CPU (Arm Cortex-X2-based) at up to 3.2GHz, 3 x Kryo Performance CPUs (A710-based) at up to 2.8GHz,  4x Kryo Efficiency CPUs (A510-based) at up to 2.0GHz, ARMv9 architecture
  • 4nm TSMC Process Technology
  • Built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 5G modem-RF system
  • 5G speeds of up to 10Gpbs down, 5G mmWave and sub-6 GHz, standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes, mmWave: 1000 MHz bandwidth, 8 carriers, 2×2 MIMO, Sub-6 GHz: 300 MHz bandwidth, 4×4 MIMO, Qualcomm 5G PowerSave 2.0, Qualcomm Smart Transmit 2.0 technology, Qualcomm Wideband Envelope Tracking, Qualcomm AI-Enhanced Signal Boost, Global 5G multi-SIM
  • Qualcomm Adreno next-gen GPU with 10% higher clock speed compared to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Vulkan 1.1 API support, HDR gaming (10-bit color depth, Rec. 2020 color gamut), Physically Based Rendering, Volumetric Rendering, Adreno Frame Motion Engine, API Support: OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 FP, Vulkan 1.1
  • Hardware-accelerated H.265 and VP9 decoder, HDR Playback Codec support for HDR10+, HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision
  • Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec (WCD9385), New Qualcomm Aqstic smart speaker amplifier (WSA8835), Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N), Playback: -108dB, Qualcomm Audio and Voice Communication Suite
  • Up to 36 MP triple camera, Up to 64+36 MP dual camera, Up to 108 MP single camera with ZSL, Up to 200MP single camera, Qualcomm Spectra 680 Image Sensor Processor (18-bit triple-ISP)
  • Rec. 2020 color gamut photo and video capture, Up to 10-bit color depth photo and video capture, 8K HDR Video Capture + 64 MP Photo Capture
  • 10-bit HEIF: HEIC photo capture, HEVC video capture, Video Capture Formats: HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, 8K HDR Video Capture @ 30 FPS, 4K Video Capture @ 120 FPS, Slow-mo video capture at 720p @ 960 FPS, Bokeh Engine for Video Capture, Video super resolution, Multi-frame Noise Reduction (MFNR), Locally Motion Compensated Temporal Filtering, Multi-Frame and triple exposure staggered/digital, overlap HDR dual sensor support, AI-based face detection, auto-focus, and auto-exposure
  • On-Device Display Support: 4K at 60 Hz / QHD+ at 144 Hz, Maximum External Display Support: up to 4K @ 60 Hz, 10-bit color depth, Rec. 2020 color gamut, HDR10 and HDR10+, Demura and subpixel rendering for OLED Uniformity
  • 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)
  • LPDDR5 3200MHz memory
  • Wi-Fi 6E, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Multi-gigabit, Integrated 802.11ac 2×2 (2-stream) MU-MIMO, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6GHz, Bluetooth 5.3, LE Audio, Dual Bluetooth antennas, Bluetooth audio: Snapdragon Sound Technology with support for Qualcomm aptX Voice, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, and LE audio, NFC
  • GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC capable, Dual Frequency GNSS (L1/L5), Sensor-Assisted Positioning, Urban pedestrian navigation with sidewalk accuracy, Global freeway lane-level vehicle navigation
  •  USB 3.1, USB-C
  •  Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 technology
Availability

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform will power from leading global OEMs and brands including ASUS ROG, Black Shark, HONOR, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, OSOM, realme, RedMagic, Redmi, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE with commercial devices rolling out starting from Q3 2022.


Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram