Qualcomm Releases Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform
Qualcomm held the Snapdragon Technology Summit from November 15th to November 17th, announcing the launch of a new generation of high-end SoC, which is the second-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform (Snapdragon 8 Gen2). This SoC will be at the heart of next year’s flagship models from every major Android smartphone maker. Qualcomm says the new Kryo CPUs offer 35 percent better performance and 40 percent better power efficiency, while the new Adreno GPUs offer 25 percent better performance and 45 percent better power efficiency.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform (part number SM8550-AB) is manufactured using TSMC’s 4nm process. The CPU part uses a novel 1+4+3 configuration, which is said to include one Cortex-X3@3.2 GHz, two Cortex-A715@2.8 GHz, two Cortex-A710@2.8 GHz, and three Cortex-A510 @2 GHz, built-in 8MB CPU L3 cache and 6MB system cache. The GPU is Adreno 740, supports ray tracing, Vulkan 1.3, and OpenGL ES 3.2, and is the first to support the mobile-optimized Unreal Engine 5 Metahuman framework; the upgraded Hexagon processor with a new architecture has a 4.35 times improvement in AI performance, and is also the first Snapdragon mobile platform to support INT4, with a 60% increase in energy efficiency; support LPDDR5X memory and USB 4.0 storage.
With the first cognitive ISP, the new platform brings better Snapdragon imaging technology. This is also the first Snapdragon mobile platform to integrate an AV1 video decoder, which can play up to 8K HDR video at 60 frames per second. At the same time, it also supports brand-new image sensors, such as Samsung’s ISOCELL HP3, which is the first 200-megapixel image sensor optimized for the second-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform. In addition, the four-exposure digital overlay (DOL) HDR technology supported by Sony for the first time has also been optimized for the Snapdragon platform.
In addition, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform uses the Snapdragon X70 5G modem, which is the first Snapdragon mobile platform to support 5G+5G/4G dual-card dual-pass; at the same time, it also adopts the FastConnect 7800 mobile connection system, which is Qualcomm’s first Wi-Fi 7 commercial solution, bringing ultra-low latency Wi-Fi 7 and dual Bluetooth connections; Support Snapdragon smooth listening technology to create immersive music, call, and game experiences; under the protection of Snapdragon Secure, it supports the latest isolation, encryption, key management, and authentication functions.
