What To Expect From Qualcomm's May 20 Snapdragon Launch Event
Qualcomm has started sending out invites for a launch event scheduled to take place on May 20, 2022. While there were rumors about the possibility of Qualcomm hosting a launch event this month, it is only today that an official confirmation came from the company in the form of a Weibo post. The Weibo post includes the picture of the invite (in Chinese) with text that translates to "Snapdragon Night." In addition, there is a Snapdragon logo on the poster as well, indicating that we will likely see the announcement of new Snapdragon chipsets at this event.
Qualcomm did not go all the way and reveal the names of the products they intend to launch at this time. However, there has been a barrage of reports that indicate that Qualcomm will launch at least two new chipsets at the event. These include the much-awaited Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor and the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1: What we know so far
As evident from its naming scheme, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will mark the birth of a new generation of mid-range chipsets from Snapdragon. Its naming scheme is similar to the company's existing flagship lineup, and there is a good chance that all future Snapdragon mid-range processors may follow this naming convention. Current rumors indicate the likelihood of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset featuring an octa-core processor with four performance cores and four efficiency cores. While the performance cores are likely to be based on ARM Cortex A710, the efficiency cores may use ARM Cortex A510 cores. The chipset will also integrate an integrated Adreno 662 GPU for graphics.
Shortly after Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, OPPO will likely launch the first smartphone based on this chipset. Previous reports have indicated that this device is likely to be the OPPO Reno 8. OPPO has already sent out invites for this event that is scheduled to take place a few days after Qualcomm's.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+: What to expect
Another interesting product that could be launched at Qualcomm's May 20 event is the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen1+ SoC. This chipset, as evident from its name, is an upgraded variant of the existing Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship processor from Qualcomm.
One of the most talked-about changes to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ chipset is the likelihood of it being manufactured using TSMC's 4nm manufacturing process. The original Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, on the other hand, uses Samsung's 4nm manufacturing process. This change is likely to improve the overall performance of the upcoming flagship-grade chip. Shortly after the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ is announced, Realme could also announce the launch of the first-ever smartphone that could use this chipset — the follow-up to the Realme GT Master Explorer Edition.
It will be interesting to see how these new chips fare against the competing products from Qualcomm's now formidable adversary MediaTek.