Coming Soon: Faster Android Phones
Android users will now get improved gaming and graphics performance.
Gone are the days when mobile gaming was looked down upon as the companion of ‘that kid with no life.’ Today there would be hardly anyone who hasn’t tried their hands at playing a game on mankind’s favorite gadget. Whether we are waiting for that train to commute, or for our turn at the dentist’s, our hands reach into our pockets for that phone which is always with us.
Developers are pushing the technical capabilities of phones and tablets to their limits, and some of the world’s biggest franchises are thriving on handheld devices.
It is only natural to hear news of technological improvements related to mobile phones every few months. Here is one such news from Qualcomm, one of the biggest names when it comes to mobile phone tech.
Qualcomm has unveiled its most powerful smartphone processor to date, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
Most high-end Android phones and tablets introduced of late use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which was introduced in December 2021. The 8+ Gen 1 is a mid-cycle update, with marginally enhanced graphics and performance to tide us over until the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 arrives next year.
According to Qualcomm, the new CPU includes an enhanced Adreno GPU, with up to 10% quicker graphics and a 30% reduction in battery utilization over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, meaning mobile games and graphics-heavy apps will function a little better.
The Kyro CPU cores are said to provide “up to 10% quicker processing” and offer a “30% boost in power efficiency.”
Yeah, that’s a lot of “up to” measures there. That is due to the fact that mobile chipsets are engineered to limit clock rates when doing less strenuous activities — after all, you don’t need all the power of the chip to browse through Insta.
XDA Developers — one of the largest global Android resources — ran their benchmark tests on the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which gave results in line with Qualcomm’s claims.
“Some of these improvements are akin to a year-on-year generational improvement, not just a “Plus” variant” — XDA Developers
It will be used in phones by ASUS ROG, OnePlus, OPPO, Motorola, ZTE, and others.
Then there is also Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.
This is placed below the 8 and 8+ chips in terms of performance and replaces the Snapdragon 778G.
The graphics rendering is claimed to be 20% faster than the 778G. The Image Signal Processor has been enhanced to Qualcomm Spectra triple ISP, enabling users to shoot simultaneously from three cameras. In addition, it supports up to 200-megapixel photos and 4K HDR video recording. It can also do video recording in HEVC format, and 10-bit HEIC still photos.
Some capabilities from more costly chips, like Qualcomm aptX Lossless audio, the Trust Management Engine, and Android Ready SE, are making their debut on the 7 series.
Gamers would love the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip since it brings the Adreno Frame Motion Engine which promises double frame rates in games but has the same power consumption as that of the 778G!
Companies like Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi reportedly are bringing out their phones with this new chip.
This is an exciting development for Android fans. I know your fingers are itching to try to out ARK, Fortnite, Shadow Fight, PUBG, and the like on one of these jazzed-up phones.
But you will have to wait some more.
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is expected to start showing up in phones and tablets in the second quarter of 2022, while devices with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 won’t be out till the third quarter of 2022.
In fact, Oppo has just announced that their Reno 8 Pro model in the Reno 8 series will have the Snapdragon 7 Gen1.
So hold on to that cash for now buddy, you can spend it better.
