Qualcomm has announced its latest premium flagship Mobile Platform Chip the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit 2021 event, as they announced. It uses the latest Kryo CPU which is based on the latest ARM-V9 architecture that gives 20% performance improvements and 30% improved power efficiency and the next-gen Adreno GPU that gives 30% performance and 25% power saving compared to the predecessor.
It features an 18-bit ISP with speeds up to 3.2 gigapixels per second, 7th Gen Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine, Qualcomm Hexagon processor, featuring a 2x faster tensor accelerator and 2x larger shared memory than its predecessor.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is equipped with the latest 4th gen Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System that makes the world’s first 5G modem-RF solution to reach 10 Gigabit download speeds. It also features the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Mobile Connectivity System that supports the fastest Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3.6 Gbps, over Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.
Qualcomm Spectra Image Signal Processor Technology includes the first 18-bit ISP ever created for mobile, capturing over 4000x more camera data than its predecessor for extreme dynamic range, color, and sharpness at staggering speeds up to 3.2 gigapixels per second. First 8K HDR video capture in a mobile platform, and it’s capable of capturing in HDR10+ format with over a billion shades of color. New Bokeh Engine adds beautiful soft backgrounds to videos. Includes a fourth separate ISP to run with extremely low power consumption to experience always-on face unlocking and locking if your face isn’t present for heightened privacy.
It comes with the new 7th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine which is equipped with ultra-high performance and efficient Qualcomm Hexagon processor and features a 2x faster tensor accelerator and 2x larger shared memory than its predecessor. Intelligently integrated Leica Leitz Look filters.
It supports over 50 Snapdragon Elite Gaming features where Snapdragon 8 delivers ultra-smooth responsiveness, color-rich HDR scenes at the highest visual quality, and desktop-level capabilities that are mobile-firsts. The latest Qualcomm Adreno GPU provides a 30% more boost in graphics rendering capabilities and a 25% improvement in power savings compared to the previous generation. Variable Rate Shading Pro provides a finer grain of control for game developers to further tune game performance. Desktop-level Volumetric rendering brings unrivaled realism to fog, smoke, and particle effects that have been optimized for mobile by Qualcomm Technologies’ in-house Snapdragon Studios.
Snapdragon 8 features vault-like security to keep your data protected. First Snapdragon platform to feature a dedicated Trust Management Engine to achieve heightened security and provide additional Root of Trust for apps and services. World’s first mobile platform to feature Android Ready SE—the new standard for digital car keys, drivers’ licenses, and more. The Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit features support for iSIM and an integrated SIM card.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Features -
| CPU | 1 x Kryo Prime CPU (Arm Cortex-X2-based) at up to 3.0GHz, 3 x Kryo Performance CPUs (A710-based) at up to 2.50GHz, 4x Kryo Efficiency CPUs (A510-based) at up to 1.80GHz, ARMv9 architecture |
| Process | Samsung 4nm Process Technology |
| RAM/Storage | LPDDR5 3200MHz, USB 3.1, USB-C |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno next-gen GPU, Vulkan 1.1 API support, HDR gaming (10-bit color depth, Rec. 2020 color gamut), Physically Based Rendering, Volumetric Rendering, Adreno Frame Motion Engine, API Support: OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 FP, Vulkan 1.1 |
| API Support | OpenCL 2.0 Full, DirectX 12, OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1 API support |
| Camera | Up to 36 MP triple camera, Up to 64+36 MP dual camera, Up to 108 MP single camera with ZSL, Up to 200MP single camera, Qualcomm Spectra 680 Image Sensor Processor (18-bit triple-ISP), Rec. 2020 color gamut photo and video capture, Up to 10-bit color depth photo and video capture, 8K HDR Video Capture + 64 MP Photo Capture 10-bit HEIF: HEIC photo capture, HEVC video capture, Video Capture Formats: HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, 8K HDR Video Capture @ 30 FPS, 4K Video Capture @ 120 FPS, Slow-mo video capture at 720p @ 960 FPS, Bokeh Engine for Video Capture, Video super-resolution, Multi-frame Noise Reduction (MFNR), Locally Motion Compensated Temporal Filtering, Multi-Frame and triple exposure staggered/digital, overlap HDR dual-sensor support, AI-based face detection, auto-focus, and auto-exposure |
| Display | 4K at 60 Hz / QHD+ at 144 Hz, Maximum External Display Support: up to 4K @ 60 Hz, 10-bit color depth, Rec. 2020 color gamut, HDR10 and HDR10+, Demura and subpixel rendering for OLED Uniformity |
| Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine | Qualcomm Hexagon Processor, Fused AI Accelerator, Hexagon Tensor Accelerator, Hexagon Vector eXtensions, Hexagon Scalar Accelerator, Support for mix precision( INT8+INT16), Support for all precisions (INT8, INT16, FP16) |
| Video | accelerated H.265 and VP9 decoder, HDR Playback Codec support for HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision |
| Audio | Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec (WCD9385), New Qualcomm Aqstic smart speaker amplifier (WSA8835), Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N), Playback: -108dB, Qualcomm Audio and Voice Communication Suite |
| Network | Built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 5G modem-RF system, 5G speeds of up to 10Gpbs down, 5G mmWave and sub-6 GHz, standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes, mmWave: 1000 MHz bandwidth, 8 carriers, 2×2 MIMO, Sub-6 GHz: 300 MHz bandwidth, 4×4 MIMO, Qualcomm 5G PowerSave 2.0, Qualcomm Smart Transmit 2.0 technology, Qualcomm Wideband Envelope Tracking, Qualcomm AI-Enhanced Signal Boost, Global 5G multi-SIM |
| Sensors | GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC capable, Dual Frequency GNSS (L1/L5), Sensor-Assisted Positioning, Urban pedestrian navigation with sidewalk accuracy, Global freeway lane-level vehicle navigation |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Multi-gigabit, Integrated 802.11ac 2×2 (2-stream) MU-MIMO, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6GHz, Bluetooth 5.2, LE Audio, Dual Bluetooth antennas, Bluetooth audio: Snapdragon Sound Technology with support for Qualcomm aptX Voice, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, and LE audio, NFC |
| Charger | Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 technology |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC List of Smartphones -
Qualcomm also announced at the Snapdragon Tech Summit that Black Shark, HONOR, iQOO, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Redmi, SHARP, Sony, Vivo, iQOO, Xiaomi, and ZTE will introduce commercial devices starting from this December 2021. Several OEMs have also confirmed the list of smartphones that will be powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Xiaomi 12 series will be one of the first devices powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform, confirmed by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. He also said that this comes after months of a joint effort between Xiaomi and Qualcomm.
Motorola confirmed that the latest Snapdragon flagship chip will power its edge smartphone. In China, GM has confirmed moto edge 30X (moto edge 30 ultras) will be the first phone with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and will be launched on Dec 9th. The company also revealed that it will introduce a first-of-its-kind 5G wearable.
Redmi is also on the list, so we can expect a Redmi phone soon with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Even though Samsung is not on the list, we can expect the Galaxy S22 series to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in some markets. Even though HONOR is in the list, HUAWEI is not in the list, ASUS is also not in the list.
