Qualcomm’s highly anticipated new Smartphone chips, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 have been officially announced, alongside an augmented reality headset.
Rumours that suggested the American chip manufacturer would announce the two chips on the 20th of May began circulating only a few days earlier when Qualcomm posted a teaser for a launch event in China that day.
The new flagship mobile chip, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Plus builds upon the highly successful and powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that can be found in current top flagship devices such as the Samsung S22 Ultra. The new chip features a maximum clock speed of up to 3.2GHz and boasts 5G speeds of up to 10Gbps, and Wi-Fi 6/6E speeds of up to 3.6Gbps.
Qualcomm have stressed the gaming capabilities of the new flagship, saying that the it has been equipped with the entire range of “Snapdragon Elite Gaming features,” which result in 10% faster speeds and 30% power reduction, adding an extra hour of gameplay.
It also has 8K HDR video capture capabilities, and performance AI engine performance increases. The new chip will apparently find its way into new Motorola, OnePlus and ASUS ROG smartphones.
While it’s more targeted at the midrange market, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 also boasts sharp gaming capabilities. It features the Adreno Frame Motion Engine that assists in doubling framerate and upscaling gaming content without sacrificing power efficiency. It also will have 20% faster graphics rendering and improved Quad HD+ display compatibility.
It will also boast camera and AI improvements. Phones fitted with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 will be able to take photos up to 200MP, shoot simultaneously between three cameras and enable 4K HDR recording.
