The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has finally been introduced by Qualcomm as the newest iteration of their flagship Snapdragon processor. Qualcomm unveiled the new processor in November at the Snapdragon Summit 2022. According to Cisco Cheng, senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm, the CPU was “specifically developed for AI.”
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, which is thoughtfully developed with ground-breaking AI, will establish a new benchmark for connected computing. Global OEMs and brands such as ASUS Republic of Gamers, HONOR, iQOO, Motorola, nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, REDMAGIC, Redmi, Sony Corporation, Vivo, Xiaomi, etc will use this new mobile platform, with the release of the first commercial devices anticipated by the end of 2022.
Before heading into the main discussion of today, here are the key specifications of the newest Snapdragon * Gen 2.
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | |
| CPU Config | 1x 3.2 GHz – Cortex-X3 4x 2.8 GHz – Cortex-A715 3x 2 GHz – Cortex-A510 |
| GPU | Adreno 740 (ray tracing support) |
| RAM support | LPDDR5X |
| Video capture | 8K @ 30fps (HDR) 4K UHD @ 120fps 720p @ 960fps |
| Video playback | 8K up to 60fps 4K HDR up to 120fps AV1, H.265 and VP9 video decoder 360 degree |
| Charging | Quick Charge 5 |
| 4G/5G Modem | X70 LTE/5G (integrated) 10,000Mbps down 3,500Mbps up |
| Other networking | Bluetooth 5.3 Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Process | TSMC 4nm (N4?) |
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Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Highlights
According to a recent press release by Qualcomm, here are the highlights of the upcoming flagship chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
- Snapdragon Smart enables groundbreaking AI experiences like faster natural language processing with multi-language translation and revolutionary INT4 support.
- Snapdragon Sight technology additions include a new Cognitive ISP to power real-time semantic segmentation for photo and video capture, delivering breakthrough customized professional quality enhancements.
- Snapdragon Elite Gaming features fuel champion-level gameplay with the industry standard for real-time hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
- Snapdragon Connect enhancements include unparalleled connectivity featuring the world’s first 5G AI processor in a mobile platform, and the only commercial Wi-Fi 7 SoC with High Band Simultaneous Multi-Link.
- Snapdragon Sound technology supports spatial audio with dynamic head tracking for ultra-immersive gaming and multimedia experiences.
What to Expect from Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of Gaming
Snapdragon has been the go-to chipset for mobile games for a very long time. Qualcomm has been releasing flagship chipsets for a long time with outstanding gaming performance. The gaming performance of these CPUs has been one of the key reasons Qualcomm dominating the market for such a long time.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has been a huge success in terms of gaming with its high graphics and other features. The previous gen chipset of the Snapdragon 8 series has undoubtedly put up the bars for Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Although no handset has been released till now, the new features of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 surely do look good enough to amaze gamers.
Here are the main things that mobile gamers can expect from the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
Better Gaming Visuals
Raytracing has been the talk of the town for graphics lovers of PC for a very long time. Qualcomm has now brought very good news for mobile gamers, too, as they will be featuring Raytracing in the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Companies like REDMAGIC or ASUS are likely to implement hardware-accelerated raytracing to their already stronger phones, increasing the gaming performance by a huge margin.
The Adreno GPU built within the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is improved over its predecessor, much like the Kryo CPU. When compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm anticipates a 25% increase in graphics rendering and a 45% increase in power efficiency.
The first mobile-optimized support for the Unreal Engine 5 Metahumans Framework on Snapdragon will let gamers enjoy lifelike human characters in their games. Ray-box, ray-triangle, and bounding volume hierarchical (BVH) intersections are supported by Qualcomm’s hardware-accelerated ray tracing, making it appear to be a more sophisticated implementation.
Better Connectivity and Low Latency
According to Qualcomm, the most cutting-edge 5G platform in the world, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, offers unmatched connectivity across 5G and Wi-Fi. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 uses the Snapdragon X70 5G Modem-RF System with Qualcomm’s 5G AI Processor to deliver unprecedented 5G upload and download speeds, coverage, latency, and battery efficiency.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 also has the Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 networking technology, which provides Wi-Fi 7 with the lowest latency. Peak Wi-Fi 7 performance is made possible globally by High Band Simultaneous Multi-Link, enabling fast connections for streaming, gaming, and other uses.
Latency has always been an issue for mobile gamers, especially competitive gamers. With the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 featuring new connectivity features for gamers, they can expect a more lag-free experience with better gaming performance.
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