Qualcomm’s New Mid-Ranger – Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
Qualcomm unfortunately didn’t share the full specs of the new chips, so we don’t know the exact ARM cores used. But we know it is an octa-core CPU with a max clock speed of 2.2GHz. According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 will bring a 40% improvement in computational performance, and a 35 percent improvement in Graphical performance. The upcoming SoC also has support for DDR5 RAM, up to 2750MHz, with max 12 GB capacity. While Qualcomm doesn’t provide a reference for the improvement figures, a good guess would be, these are improvements over last year’s Snapdragon 695. The upcoming SoC supports the latest Vulcan 1.1 API, along with support for OpenGL. It even has a hardware accelerated H.265 and VP9 decoder, and support for the HLG HDR standard. For optics, the SoC sports triple 12-bit ISP. It can support a 13 MP triple camera or a 25+16 MP dual cameras or a 48 MP single camera, at up to 30FPS with zero shutter lag. There’s also support for a max 108 MP lens, along with support for 4K HDR video at up to 30 FPS. As for a display, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 can run an FHD+ screen at 120Hz. Like most recent mid-range SoCs, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is 5G enabled, featuring Qualcomm’s X62 5G modem. There’s support for both mmWave and the Sub-6 GHz wave. The chip uses the Qualcomm FastConnect 6700 silicon for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with a peak speed of up to 2.9 Gbps.
Qualcomm’s Entry Level Offering – Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
The Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 follows last year’s Snapdragon 480 Plus, and according to Qualcomm brings a 10% improvement in graphics performance and a 15% improvement in computer performance. Unlike the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, this chip is built on the older 6nm node. Qualcomm didn’t reveal the architecture details for this chip too, so we don’t know the exact ARM cores used. Although the company did confirm it’s a 64-bit Kyro CPU with a max boost clock of 2GHz. There’s also support for LPDDR4X RAM this time around, with a max speed of 2133MHz. For storage, there’s support for eMMC 5.1 and UFS 2.2. For display, there’s support for two option – FHD+@120Hz, or HD+@120Hz. The SoC supports both AVC and HEVC playback, along with VP9. There’s also support for OpenGL, OpenCL and Vulkan. For optics, the SoC also sports a triple 12-bit ISP. Like the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, it can support a 13 MP triple camera or a 25+16 MP dual camera or a 48 MP single camera, at up to 30FPS with zero shutter lag. But in Slow Motion Video Capture, there’s only support for 720p@120fps, unlike the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 which delivers double the frames at 720p@240fps. Unfortunately, there’s no 4K video recording too, and the chip maxes out at 1080p@60fps. There’s 5G support here too, but only for the Sub-6GHz with limited bandwidth, and no support for mmWave. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are powered by Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6200 system. Qualcomm didn’t reveal release dates for the SoCs, but according to rumors, Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 phones will debut sometime in Q1 2023, with the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 arriving sometime this quarter.
