what you should Know
- Qualcomm unveils its latest mid-range Snapdragon chips.
- Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 builds on the Snapdragon 695 with better connectivity, camera support and a new AI engine.
- Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 continues to improve lower-end smartphones with better camera support and faster performance.
- These chips will arrive in phones from Q3 2022 and Q1 2023, respectively.
As more companies introduce smartphones with Qualcomm’s latest flagship 8+ Gen 1 chipset, the chipmaker is introducing its latest mid-range chipsets to bring more flagship features to lower-priced smartphones. Enter Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, the first in any series to get Qualcomm’s new naming scheme.
At the higher end, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 gets a number of upgrades over last year’s Snapdragon 695. In addition to a whopping 40% improvement in CPU performance and 35% faster graphics rendering, the new 6-series chip is equipped with Qualcomm 7th generation AI Engine for smarter processing. Not only is it more efficient, but it helps improve AI-powered features like bokeh effects for your camera.
Speaking of the camera, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is the first in the series to support up to 200MP images as well as computational HDR video capture, so hopefully we can expect better camera performance from phones in this tier.
Connectivity will also be much better. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is paired with the Snapdragon X62 5G modem, enabling peak download speeds of 2.9 Gbps. Wi-Fi 6E support also arrives as a first for the series. And for gamers, the chip will enable faster, more vibrant games with support for 60fps or more and 10-bit HDR.
Unfortunately, it will be a while before we see this chip in action, as Snapdragon 6 Gen 1-based phones aren’t scheduled to launch until the first quarter of 2023. Motorola is already slated to introduce a phone powered by chip “in the future”.
It will be interesting to see how phones using this chip fare against the likes of the Pixel 6a. The phone already packs exceptional value for a mid-range phone, thanks to the flagship Tensor chip making up for the otherwise lackluster hardware.
Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is set to give lower-end phones a much-needed boost thanks to its 15% better CPU power and 10% better GPU performance compared to its predecessor. Support for FHD+ 120hz displays remains, while Qualcomm’s AI Engine should give the phones an extra edge.
Cameras on the Series 4 can now be boosted to 108MP with Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. Some of the best Android phones from Samsung and others have 108MP cameras, so it seems likely that we’ll see these sensors trickle down to the low-end, especially with newer phones starting to pack Samsung’s 200MP ISOCELL HP1 sensor and the company already gearing up for the HP3.
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 will start appearing in smartphones this quarter, with iQOO slated to be among the first to launch a device powered by the chip.