Qualcomm has just taken the stage to reveal the long-awaited Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which will power a slew of Android flagships in 2022.
The chipmaker decided to simplify and streamline how it calls its mobile chipsets, so the processor was previously rumored as Snapdragon 898. This, as well as the fact that the San Diego team is expanding into CPUs for Microsoft Windows 11 devices and a gaming platform.
Qualcomm promises big advancements in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with higher performance, camera technology, AI capabilities, security, and 5G.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the first Qualcomm chip to employ Arm's latest Armv9 architecture, as expected. The new eight-core Kryo CPU will include a single prime core based on the Cortex-X2 at 3.0GHz, three performance cores based on the Cortex-A710 at 2.5GHz, and four efficiency cores based on the Cortex-A510 at 1.8GHz.
In addition, the Snapdragon 888 was created on a 5nm technology, whereas the new chip is built on a 4nm process.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon X65 modem makes its debut on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, promising a slew of 5G features and firsts. It's Qualcomm's fourth-generation 5G modem, and it adds support for up to 10Gbps speeds and the latest 3GPP Release 16 specification to the previous mmWave and sub-6GHz compatibility. You almost likely won't witness that kind of speed in the real world, as is always the case.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth LE Audio (a first for Qualcomm), and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound technology for allowing AptX Lossless wireless audio are also supported by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will improve performance by up to 20% and power efficiency by up to 30% over last year's model.
Qualcomm is also incorporating extra high-end camera functions out of the box, such as 8K video recording with HDR 10 Plus and shooting in 18-bit RAW (assuming your phone has the camera hardware to actually pull it off).
Finally, there are enhancements to security. In addition to compatibility for the Android Ready SE standard, which enables support for digital vehicle keys, driver's licenses, IDs, and e-money wallets, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 adds a new hardware-level layer of security with a "dedicated Trust Management Engine." There's also iSIM support for connecting to cellular networks directly.
Qualcomm claims that new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 smartphones will be available (or at the very least announced) by the end of 2021.
