Qualcomm has just taken the wraps off the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset at the Snapdragon Summit. It is the company’s latest flagship chipset and direct successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is listed under the model number SM8550-AB and is built on the 4nm process.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU and GPU
The latest Qualcomm flagship chipset has a new Kryo trio that delivers up to 35% higher performance and up to 40% higher efficiency than its predecessor.
The cores share the same clock speeds as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 but with a different configuration. The Gen 2 chipset has a single Kryo Prime core that runs at 3.2 GHz (or 3.1872GHz to be exact). This is supported by four Performance cores at 2.8GHz and three Efficiency cores at 2.0GHz. To compare, the configuration of the 8+ Gen 1 has a prime core, three Performance cores, and four Efficiency cores.
As far as memory goes, the Gen 2 chipset supports LPDDR5X at up to 4200MHz and UFS 4.0 storage.
Meanwhile, the new Adreno GPU offers up to 25% performance and up to 45% higher power efficiency. It now also has ray tracing hardware and support for Vulkan 1.3 and OpenGL ES 3.2.
The chipset supports QHD+ resolution display at up to 144Hz or 4K resolution at up to 60Hz. It also supports external displays at up to 4K at 60Hz (with 10-bit recording 2020 color gamut, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision) and also has AV1 video decoding.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Cameras
The 8 Gen 2 has a triple 18-bit ISP that is able to handle up to three 36MP cameras at 30fps or go for up to a 20MP single camera. 108MP sensors are also supported with zero shutter lag.
The company mentioned as well that Sony’s sensor with Digital Overlap HDR and Samsung’s ISOCELL HP3 200MP sensor have been optimized to work with the Snapdragon ISP.
As far as video recording goes, it can record 8K HDR videos at 30fps (while capturing 64MP photos simultaneously), 4K video at 120fps, or slow motion videos at 720p at 960fps. It supports HDR formats including HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Connectivity and AI
The new chipset boasts the new Snapdragon X70 modem with support for mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G. The modem supports Dual-SIM, Dual-Active (DSDA) operation where two 5G SIMs or 5G+4G are active.
It also has the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard (802.11be) with the FastConnect 7800 system. Moreover, it has Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, which coupled with Snapdragon Sound can deliver 48kHz lossless music and 48ms latency for gaming.
Lastly, the Hexagon processor supports a new INT4 format that promises 60% better performance per watt. The AI performance is also claimed to have improved by 4.35x.
Qualcomm has mentioned that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be adopted by Android phone makers including ASUS ROG, HONOR, iQOO, Meizu, Motorola, nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, Red Magic, Sharp, Sony, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.
The first devices are said to arrive before the end of the year.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
