Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
Just a few days after the Mobile World Congress, at which Qualcomm announced all sorts of new products and partnerships – such as for Snapdragon Satellite and AR glasses – the semiconductor developer follows up: With the new Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, Qualcomm wants to bring premium functions into the middle class .
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 is manufactured by TSMC, while the predecessor, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, rolled off the assembly line at Samsung. TSMC’s manufacturing process is considered more mature, which tends to mean higher performance and better energy efficiency
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 – more performance, less energy consumption. (Image: Qualcomm)
The eight-core chip consists of a prime, three performance and four efficiency cores. The Qualcomm Kryo CPU delivers maximum clock rates of up to 2.91 gigahertz. According to Qualcomm, the chip delivers 50 percent more CPU power than the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 predecessor, while the Adreno GPU and AI engine each deliver twice the performance, according to the developer. In addition, the top GPU performance can be maintained longer, which has a positive effect on games.
Editor’s Recommendations
Furthermore, the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 achieves up to 13 percent better energy efficiency than its predecessor, which enables a longer daily runtime.
In terms of camera capabilities, an 18-bit triple ISP should be able to capture more camera data and a wide range of image dynamics. In addition, the chip supports camera sensors with up to 200 megapixels, which are currently on the rise. In addition, the new chip should enable better performance than its predecessor when shooting at night.
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 – the key data. (Image: Qualcomm)
On the video side, the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 delivers support for triple exposure HDR videos, according to the manufacturer.
Other features of the SoC include aptX Lossless and Qualcomm High Speed ​​Link, which should ensure high-quality audio. In terms of connectivity, the SoC houses a Snapdragon X62 5G modem RF system that 3GPP Release 16, 5G mmWave Sub6 aggregation and download rates up to 4.4 gigabits per second. When using two SIM cards with 4G or 5G, both can be used simultaneously for data transfer (4G/5G Dual Sim Dual Active, DSDA).
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 – the 5G modem supports Sub 6 and mmWave. (Image: Qualcomm)
The SoC also supports Wi-Fi 6 and 6e for high data transfer in the Wi-Fi network of up to 3.6 gigabits per second. The recently announced satellite communication Snapdragon Satellite, which should be launched in the course of the second half of the year, is not yet supported by the new SoC.
Qualcomm announced at MWC 2023 that all future 5G modem RF systems and Snapdragon mobile platforms from eight to four will have the function. However, the restrictive statement was “as soon as the ecosystem has matured”. That should probably be the case in 2024 at the earliest.
According to Qualcomm, the first smartphones with the new chip will come from Realme and Reim, and more will follow.
