Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit is an opportunity for the chipmaker to showcase its latest silicon and the advances its technologies are bringing to the next wave of devices and experiences across mobile, automotive, audio, mixed reality and more.
As part of the proceedings, it's also where the company's next flagship mobile chip (the one likely to power the next wave of best Android phones to come) usually debuts, and of course, on November 15, the highlight of the first Summit day was the unveiling of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Editor's note
Flights and accommodation for this launch event were funded by Qualcomm, but opinions reflect the independent opinion of the author.
Those who follow Qualcomm's current mobile chipset naming convention might have already guessed that after departing from a triple-digit system the year before, the successor to 8's Snapdragon 1 Gen 2021 was going to be the 8 Gen 2, and now this has been galvanized.
Para aquellos familiarizados, la arquitectura del procesador subyacente (un núcleo «primario», respaldado por cuatro núcleos de rendimiento y tres núcleos de eficiencia) puede no parecer una desviación notable de su predecesor, pero Qualcomm ha realizado una gran cantidad de cambios en su último y mejor dispositivo móvil. . SoC (sistema en chip) que aporta mejoras significativas a aspectos clave de la experiencia informática móvil; como el procesamiento de IA, la fidelidad del juego, el procesamiento de imágenes, la conectividad y la eficiencia energética.
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- What is it? Qualcomm's new flagship mobile chipset
- When will Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 be released? Consumers are likely to get their hands on 8 Gen 2-powered smartphones starting in December 2022, but most devices using the chip will arrive in the first half of 2023.
- How much does the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 cost? Qualcomm sells the 8 Gen 2 directly to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) such as Motorola, OnePlus, and Xiaomi, so end-consumers only pay for silicon as part of the total cost of the smartphones that use it. As the next-generation pinnacle of the company's Snapdragon lineup, it will power devices that, initially at least, command flagship prices; probably in the region of $800 / £700 / AU$1,200 and up.
So what are the most notable improvements that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 brings, and why should you care enough to want to upgrade to a phone that uses it?
Cameras that understand what they are looking at
One of the most exciting improvements aimed at bringing some of the most tangible benefits to users is the 8th generation “Cognitive ISP” 2.
In what Qualcomm calls a "world first," this generation Spectra ISP (image signal processor) carries over its predecessor's existing image segmentation, but provides the added benefit of real-time processing. This means that your device's camera will be able to distinguish the sky from the ground, your cat from the freshly made bed in which it has decided to lie down, or the flower in the middle of the foliage in the background, and, at the pixel level, apply color. , tone, sharpness, and noise reduction algorithms to get the best final shot.
The real benefit is that you can apply this level of real-time processing to photos and videos, and even display a sharper final image in the viewfinder during capture with minimal delay. So you know that what you see and what you get after you press the shutter or record will reflect each other more directly.
A feature that will no doubt help the next wave of top camera phones stand out from the non-8 Gen 2-tech competition.
Better in-game visuals including ray tracing.
(Image credit: Qualcomm)
In 2021, a key area where Samsung's own Exynos 2200 chip stood out from its like-minded rival, the 8 Gen 1, was the inclusion of hardware-accelerated ray tracing support (expect better visuals in games, punctuated with accurate reflections, smooth shadows, and ambient occlusion).
Naturally, Qualcomm was keen to address this issue with its next follow-up, and of course the 8 Gen 2 promises to bring hardware-accelerated ray tracing to mobile devices; with proven partners like the maker of some of the best gaming phones: Red Magic, and compatible titles like War Thunder.
The Adreno GPU running on the 8th generation promises 25% faster performance while offering up to 45% more power efficiency, plus new support for Vulkan 1.3, China's "HDR Vivid" standard and a feature called OLED aging compensation. .
(*8*)Más tareas de IA simultáneas, mientras se usa menos energía
Ziad Asghar de Qualcomm mostrando el rendimiento gráfico sostenido de 8 Gen 2 en Snapdragon Summit 2022 (Crédito de la imagen: Future/Alex Walker-Todd)
AI (yes, artificial intelligence) has been the rising star of mobile computing for the past few years and that trend continues to rise with 8 Gen 2.
Si bien todos los elementos principales del SoC ya aprovechan la IA hasta cierto punto, la CPU Hexagon dedicada de esta generación ofrece un conjunto de herramientas revisado (incluido un Tensor Accelerator que se duplicó en tamaño) para brindar ganancias significativas.
Qualcomm promises a 4,35x speed boost when performing AI-based tasks, thanks in part to the fact that the 8 Gen 2 is the first of its kind to take advantage of something called INT4 (integer 4) precision; enabling 60% more AI-powered tasks to be performed simultaneously per watt.
Through what can only be dark magic, Qualcomm is able to reduce 32-bit processes to 4-bit without compromising the quality of the data sets being processed, which Ziad Asghar, vice president of data management products at Qualcomm, he told TechRadar. with a 64x power reduction.
Detection hub always on
Los teléfonos modernos ya pueden ayudarnos a llevar el mundo analógico al digital; con características como el reconocimiento de texto semántico y el reconocimiento de objetos, pero el Centro de detección dentro del 8 Gen 2 ha sido diseñado específicamente para ayudarlo con tales tareas; con dos núcleos de procesamiento de IA para hasta el doble de rendimiento de IA en comparación con 8 Gen 1, así como un 50 % más de memoria que antes.
The Sensing Hub supports an "always-on camera" (a reformulation of the next-generation "always-on camera"), ideal for everything from QR code scanning to face proximity detection, facial recognition, and even eye tracking, all without having to open your device's camera app.
Asghar confirmed to TechRadar that a number of OEM partners are particularly interested in this aspect of the Sensing Hub, suggesting that the next wave of 8 Gen 2-powered phones could well have the ability to scan and swipe QR codes and the like without needing to do it. woken up or for particular applications to be open to interact with them.
Despite its always-on nature, Qualcomm also claims that the data processed by the Sensing Hub doesn't leave your device.
5G and Wi-Fi even faster and more flexible
With the Snapdragon X70 5G modem, the 8 Gen 2 not only supports up to 10Gbps down and 3.5Gbps up on 5G, but is the first on the scene to feature DSDA (Dual SIM Dual Active) for two 5G SIMs, simultaneously and also has its own AI processor to optimize cellular performance and power.
As before, mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G modes were supported, as well as Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) modes.
Además, aunque parece que WiFi 6E acaba de ser lanzado, el FastConnect 7800 dentro del 8 Gen 2 lo convierte en una de las primeras piezas de silicio de consumo que admite velocidades de ancho de banda y WiFi 7; perdiendo solo ante el nuevo chipset Dimensity 9200 de MediaTek, anunciado unos días antes.
With the growing popularity of streaming video at ever higher fidelities and bitrates, as well as growing interest in cloud gaming and competitive mobile gaming, these updates are critical to allowing these experiences to continue to thrive and evolve. .
Todo lo que necesitas saber sobre 8 Gen 2
Discutido en la parte superior de este artículo, el 4nm 8 Gen 2 fabricado por TSMC presenta una arquitectura de CPU Kryo de ocho núcleos ahora familiar; dividido en un núcleo Cortex-X3 primario (con una frecuencia de hasta 3,2 GHz), cuatro núcleos de rendimiento (con una frecuencia de hasta 2,8 GHz) y tres núcleos de eficiencia (hasta 2,0 GHz), lo que marca un cambio que ahora ve que el cuarto núcleo de eficiencia se manifiesta como un cuarto núcleo de rendimiento en su lugar.
Asghar mencionó que estos grandes núcleos están más cerca que nunca del consumo de energía de los núcleos más pequeños, lo que se refleja en la promesa del procesador 8 Gen 2 Kryo de una mejora de velocidad del 35 %, al tiempo que promete un ahorro de energía del 40 %.
Otra gran actualización para los entusiastas de los medios es la nueva función de audio espacial dinámico del conjunto de chips; permitiendo que el sonido del contenido espacializado se mueva en relación con la posición de la cabeza de los oyentes, lo que promete ofrecer un consumo de medios más inmersivo.
Which phones will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2?
(Image credit: Qualcomm)
Aunque Oppo es la primera compañía en confirmar que su próximo teléfono Android insignia de la marca Find X (presuntamente de la serie Oppo Find X6) se ejecutará en Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (aunque aún no se ha confirmado la fecha de lanzamiento). Qualcomm detalló una serie de otros socios al presentar el chip.
Asus, Honor, Motorola OnePlus, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi, ZTE y más se han comprometido a entregar dispositivos con tecnología 8 Gen 2 en un futuro cercano, sin embargo, aún está por verse quién llegará primero. Hemos ampliado la lista confirmada, utilizando nuestra propia experiencia para discernir qué otros fabricantes de teléfonos probablemente tendrán teléfonos con tecnología 8 Gen 2 en el mercado lo suficientemente pronto.
Xiaomi y Motorola han estado discutiendo sobre la afirmación de ofrecer el primer teléfono del mundo con Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, con el Motorola Edge X30 que traerá el Xiaomi 12 al trabajo en diciembre de 2021. Como tal, hay muchas posibilidades de que podamos esperar el misma carrera de dos caballos antes de que lleguemos a 2023.
