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Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on a 4 nm node with 20% CPU improvements, 30% greater power efficiency and 30% higher GPU performance than the Snapdragon 888

Qualcomm has revealed its next flagship SoC during the first day of its Tech Summit. (Image source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm has revealed its next flagship SoC during the first day of its Tech Summit. (Image source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, its first flagship SoC since re-branding its Snapdragon portfolio. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 should offer improvements all round over the Snapdragon 888, including an 'always-on camera'.

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the SoC that will power most flagship Android smartphones in 2022. As previous leaks have shown, every major Android OEM from Xiaomi to Samsung and Motorola will be using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which Qualcomm claims offers the following performance improvements over the Snapdragon 888:

  • 20% faster CPU performance
  • 30% more power-efficient CPU
  • 30% GPU performance improvements
  • 25% GPU-related power savings

While Qualcomm has not mentioned many of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1's specifics in its presentation, it has based the SoC on ARM's new ARMv9 architecture. Additionally, the SoC integrates a high-performance Cortex-X2 core, matching the Dimensity 9000, which should boost to 3.0 GHz when needed. Similarly, as previous leaks have suggested, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is also likely to rely on Cortex-A710 and Cortex-A510 cores.

(Image source: Qualcomm)
(Image source: Qualcomm)
(Image source: Qualcomm)
(Image source: Qualcomm)
(Image source: Qualcomm)
(Image source: Qualcomm)

In part, Qualcomm has achieved these performance gains by manufacturing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on a 4 nm process. Moreover, Qualcomm adds that the SoC's new GPU, an unnamed Adreno part, is up to 60% more performant in Vulkan than the Snapdragon 888. Based on leaks, Qualcomm will eventually call the GPU 'Adreno 730'. Either way, Qualcomm is promising 'desktop-level gaming' from its new mobile GPU. 

However, Qualcomm also stresses that the SoC offers superior AI capabilities, with up 4x AI performance thanks to its 7th generation AI engine. Furthermore, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has an 18-bit triple ISP that is always active in the background. Apparently, the ISP, Snapdragon Sight, can process images from three cameras simultaneously in the background or up to 240 images captured at 12 MP in one second. 

Finally, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 features Qualcomm's new X65 5G modem that should deliver up to 10 Gbps download speeds over a 5G network. Alternatively, the modem supports up to 3.6 Gbps speeds over Wi-Fi 6E. Unsurprisingly, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and the latest Qualcomm aptX Bluetooth codec.

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(Image source: Qualcomm)
(Image source: Qualcomm)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 11 > Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on a 4 nm node with 20% CPU improvements, 30% greater power efficiency and 30% higher GPU performance than the Snapdragon 888
Alex Alderson, 2021-12- 1 (Update: 2021-11-30)