Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, for when flagship isn’t flagship enough

It is about to be surpassed by a better version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that set the stage for the biggest smartphones of the future. It's called the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, and it will offer 10 percent faster performance, 10 percent faster graphics cards, and 15 percent less.

It is claimed that it has achieved 30 percent better power efficiency and 20 percent better performance per watt, but that doesn't mean it transfers into more battery.

Image: Qualcomm

As it heats up while gaming or tapping into 5G, the new chip from Qualcomm might be able to maintain its clockspeed for longer. It depends on how phone manufacturers cool the chip.

The company isn't breaking down where the extra performance and efficiencies are coming from, but you can see some of the chip's other features in the slide above. You can expect a price premium because it will live alongside the older chip.

Image: Qualcomm

The new Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is intended for gaming with a 20 percent graphics performance boost over the prior generation and a trickle-down of features like the Adreno Frame.

The 8 Plus Gen 1 is what the makers of the gaming phone are choosing. The premium chip is signed up for by Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, realme, RedMagic, andXiaomi.

As of today, the only brands listed as building devices around the 7 Gen 1 are Honor, Oppo andXiaomi, though those phones may arrive first, and we will see the first devices within weeks. The 8 Plus Gen 1 devices are expected in the third quarter.

Later this year, we should see the announcement of the second generation of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

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