Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 introduced with new ARMv9 CPU cores
After months of waiting, Qualcomm has finally unveiled its flagship chipset that will be found in nearly all premium Android smartphones.
Qualcomm has introduced its next-generation chipset for leading Android devices and is bringing improvements around the world. In a way, this is a clear break from previous designs as it moves to a new set of ARMv9 instructions and a new naming scheme. We won’t have to wait long to see it in action, the first commercially available phones with the new chip will come out before the end of the year.
Meet Snapdragon 8 Gen1
With a new naming scheme, a figure for class (8 is leading) and generation. It is Qualcomm’s first 4nm chipset and the first to use this new generation of CPU architecture. There is a lot to talk about camera hardware, so we will present it in a separate section.
The CPU has a three-cluster design, however, the cores are now based on the ARMv9 design. This means that the main core is Cortex-X2 and will run at 3.0 GHz. In the background are three fast cores based on the Cortex-A710, which will run at 2.5 GHz, and four efficient cores based on the A510, which will run at 1.8 GHz.
All in all, the new CPU will be 20% faster than the one in the Snapdragon 888, while reducing power consumption by up to 30%. The new Adreno GPU
It promises a 30% increase in performance and up to 25% energy savings thanks to its new architecture. Qualcomm has actually developed three Elite Gaming features, one of which will allow developers to strike a balance between performance and energy efficiency.
The Adreno Frame Motion Engine allows the GPU to display the game at twice the frame rate while using the same amount of power. Alternatively, it can keep the FPS the same while reducing power consumption by half. https://twitter.com/Snapdragon/status/1465878140736053248
Another new feature is the volumetric display on the desktop. Volumetric lighting is used for dramatic lighting effects, e.g. The “rays of God” that designers seem to love so much. Also new is Variable Rate Shading Pro, an image-based VRS that should simplify VRS integration into multiple games. Qualcomm has partnered with some of the biggest game developers to ensure that their games make the best use of the hardware.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has an integrated X65 5G modem, which supports both sub-6 and mmWave operations and can deliver theoretical peak speeds of 10 Gbps. For the first time, it also supports uplink operator aggregation.
Local connectivity has support for Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, as well as Bluetooth enhancements. The new chip can output lossless CD audio via Bluetooth LE technology. It supports Bluetooth LE Audio, which is a big improvement over existing technology. The Broadcast Audio function allows one source to broadcast one or more audio streams to an unlimited number of receivers. Stereo recording will also be supported.
Qualcomm has also worked to improve chip security by introducing the Trust Management Engine, which will be located under the hypervisor (introduced with 888). TME will remain safe even if the security zones above it are compromised.
The first flagship devices powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be launched before the end of the year. Qualcomm confirmed in a press release that several brands are working with the chipmaker to launch smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. These are Black Shark, Honor, iQOO, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Redmi, Sharp, Sony Corporation , Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcyOB9GQMng&ab_channel=Snapdragon
