Snapdragon 8 Gen 1: Specs, features and benchmarks

Qualcomm has announced its latest flagship smartphone processor will be chosen the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 rather than the previously rumoured Snapdragon 898.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen ane features a new 4nm procedure, with Qualcomm claiming a twenty% operation boost for the new Kyro CPU compared to the previous generation, and a 30% uplift for the Adreno GPU.

Qualcomm is also introducing its 7th generation AI engine for the new Snapdragon chip, quadrupling the performance with avant-garde AI hardware and software. This should assistance to boost the functioning for the likes of confront detection and translating sentences, while also enhancing the quality for snapping photos and recording videos.

The new Snapdragon chip also allows phone manufacturers to have an 'e'er-on photographic camera', enabling yous to unlock your telephone via facial recognition without even touching or waking it beforehand. This should theoretically speed upward the process of unlocking your phone, making facial recognition sign-ins more than seamless.

For everything else you demand to know well-nigh the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, keep reading on.

Release engagement

Qualcomm is nevertheless to confirm when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 volition make its debut inside a smartphone, but information technology did reveal that the Xiaomi 12 Series will be the very first smartphone to feature the new chip.

Rumours indicate that the Xiaomi 12 Series could launch as soon as December, although no information was provided during the Qualcomm Tech Summit.

The Snapdragon viii Gen one is expected to pop in more smartphones throughout 2022, including the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S21.

We're also expecting to meet additional Snapdragon fries from the new "Gen 1" range. These fries will likely be less powerful, and will be packed inside more than affordable phones.

Specs

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 uses a new 4nm procedure, which is an upgrade on the previous generation's 5nm node. A smaller node ways that flake manufacturers tin squeeze more than transistors into the flake, allowing for improved performance.

In fact, Qualcomm claims that the chip's new Kryo CPU is xx% faster than the previous generation, while also apparently seeing thirty% improved power savings. This means that phones using the Snapdragon 8 Gen i should theoretically run faster, while besides seeing a longer battery life than phones using chips from the previous generation.

The gaming performance should too be getting a major boost, with the Adreno GPU supposedly seeing a 30% faster functioning and 25% improved power savings.

Qualcomm has emphasised that gaming operation should exist getting an uplift thanks to improvements to the AI besides. The new Adreno Frame Motion Engine volition evidently be capable of boosting the frame rate, while too increasing ability savings. Or alternatively, you'll accept the option to keep the frame rate stable, but reduce the ability consumption by 50% – a large boon for anyone who gets frustrated by how quickly games can deplete a smartphone's battery.

Just similar the preceding generation, the Snapdragon eight Gen 1 volition support both Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi five, allowing you to accept advantage of an improved internet connectedness when using compatible routers.

The new scrap volition besides support 5G, with tape speeds of upwardly to 10Gbps. However, it uses mmWave in lodge to reach those high speeds, and that applied science is currently merely bachelor in the The states, Prc and Japan. Qualcomm suggests coverage volition be rolled out to more than countries in the hereafter, including those in Europe, but it's unlikely to make it anytime soon.

Benchmarks

Qualcomm hasn't offered any benchmark results for the Snapdragon 8 Gen one simply yet, and because the scrap is even so to launch in smartphones, it'due south currently impossible for us to conduct our own benchmark tests.

Withal, Phone Arena has spotted a leaked benchmark outcome (via 8 o'clock tech tipster account) that indicates that the Snapdragon 8 Gen i has surpassed the 1 million mark in Antutu.

For comparing, the Qualcomm 888 chip (within the Samsung Galaxy S1 Ultra) usually sees scores around 800,000, which means the Snapdragon eight Gen 1 looks to be significantly faster.

Of course, nosotros can't completely trust this leak so information technology's worth retaining some scepticism for now. But once we're able to criterion the new fleck for ourselves, we'll make sure to update this section.

Photographic camera

Similar with most Snapdragon generations, Qualcomm has put a big focus on improving smartphone photographic camera quality thank you to its new 7th generation AI engine, which is 4 times faster than the previous generation.

Qualcomm claims the new eighteen-flake ISP packs 4096 times more photographic camera data than the previous generation. This unlocks new capabilities, such as being able to export eighteen-fleck RAW images and having an additional iv stops of dynamic range which will allow for "brighter brights and darker darks" in photos.

The company has as well doubled the burst adequacy, enabling phones to have as many as 2040 12MP photos in ane second. Qualcomm says that night fashion is now five times better too.

Samsung Galaxy S21 — Samsung Milky way S21 cameras

The new Snapdragon eight Gen 1 enables you to shoot video in 8K HDR, with support for the HDR10 standard. Qualcomm also suggests the new "video super resolution" will amend the zoom adequacy of the camera.

And think the Bokeh feature that enabled you to automatically blur the groundwork in a photo for a more focused view on the target? Now you'll exist able to practise this with a 4K video.

There have also been substantial improvements to facial detection technology, with artificial intelligence making it faster and more accurate than e'er before. The photographic camera will be able to rail specific elements of your face besides – whether that's your nose, mouth, optics or eyebrows – making it easier for emojis and the like to copy your facial expressions.

What's fifty-fifty more than impressive, the new Snapdragon 8 bit allows for an 'always-on camera' which ways you lot'll exist able to unlock your phone by simply looking at it. In that location volition exist no need to wake it beforehand by picking information technology up or borer a push.

Qualcomm also revealed that the 'e'er-on camera' tin can scan QR codes without needing to wake the phone.

Audio

Smartphones packing the Snapdragon eight Gen 1 volition likewise seen an improvement in sound quality, at to the lowest degree when paired with headphones supporting Snapdragon Sound Technology.

Firstly, the Qualcomm aptX Lossless Applied science will allow phones to play music via Bluetooth at a CD quality, just how the music artist intended.

Gamers volition too be able to make use of lag-gratis audio, with Qualcomm able to reduce the latency of sound, even over a wireless connection.

Unfortunately there is a grab to all of this, equally there currently aren't many headphones that support Snapdragon Sound Engineering science. Withal, the engineering only launched this yr and since its boasting and then many useful features, its highly probable that many new headphones will support the technology in the futurity.

AI-racket suppression will also assistance to block out background noise when yous're on a voice call. And so if yous've got a screaming infant or a barking dog in the groundwork, the person on the other end of the phone call should still be able to hear y'all clearly without distraction.

Trusted Take

The Snapdragon viii Gen i looks to be a very impressive smartphone chip. Y'all're not simply getting a significant boost to the CPU and GPU performance, only also a slew of new AI-based features that volition no doubt have the camera operation to new heights.

The "always-on" camera characteristic volition likely go the most attention, allowing users to unlock their phone without waking information technology beforehand, only the likes of 8K video recording, improved night mode performance and lossless wireless audio are worth getting excited most too.

Disclaimer: Qualcomm has paid for travel and accommodation costs for us to nourish the Qualcomm Tech Acme in Hawaii, just this will not affect our judgement on any new products, including the Snapdragon eight Gen 1.