Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 offers faster clocks and better power efficiency
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 maintains the same Kryo CPU complex at 1+3+4, featuring 1 Prime Cortex-X2 core, 3 Cortex-A71 Performance cores, and 4 Cortex-A51 Efficiency cores. However, the peak clock of the Cortex-X2 core is goose to 3.2 GHz, a 200 MHz increase over the non-Plus version. It’s not disclosed, but as far as we know, the performance core will be 2.75GHz (up from 2.5GHz) and the efficiency core will see a 200MHz speed bump to his 2GHz.
According to Qualcomm, the faster clock speeds will improve CPU performance by 10%. Qualcomm has also boosted his Adreno GPU clock by 10% to improve gaming and graphics performance as well.
This release does more than just improve performance. Qualcomm also touts significant power efficiency improvements.
Qualcomm credits the “improved” Adreno GPU for not only faster speeds, but a 30% power reduction to “deliver the ultimate gameplay experience.” That means better framerates for smoother gaming while holding the charge for longer, and users can expect up to 60 additional minutes of gaming, according to Qualcomm. Stop looking too dirty.
The same applies to the CPU, with Qualcomm claiming a peak 30% increase in power efficiency. Beyond the peak, what this all means is a 15% power savings over the non-Plus variant.
What does this mean in practical use? According to Qualcomm, in addition to an extra hour of gameplay, users will get an additional 80 minutes of video streaming, 5.5 hours of talk time, and 2 5 minutes of 5G WeChat video calls, an additional 50 minutes of browsing social media sites and services, and 17 more hours of listening to music.
As you can imagine, the increased speed and improved power efficiency don’t come at the expense of the entire feature set. Like the non-Plus version, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is powered by Qualcomm’s 7th generation AI engine, supports recording 8K video in HDR, and is ready to go on 5G networks with both sub-6GHz and mmWave support. can be used.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Performance Test Vehicles and Benchmarks
We got our hands on a prototype reference handset with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, just like we did with the previous generation chipset. This allows for the closest possible comparison between Plus and non-Plus variants without using custom themes or other 3rd party bits that can affect the results.
When I ran the AnTuTu benchmark, the difference widened significantly. Here we see an overall score jump of over 20% compared to the best results from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 handset. Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 also beats Dimensity 9000 by 12.3%.
An interesting trend in the last few generations of smartphones is the increasing focus on AI performance. Although the term is a bit loosely used these days, AI is emerging as an important aspect of the modern mobile experience. From real-time language translation and voice command parsing to on-the-fly photo cleanup, AI performance is critical to our everyday use.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 excels in AI workloads, and as you can see from the performance chart above, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is even better. Qualcomm’s 7th-generation AI engine packs a punch and remains unchanged from the non-Plus variants, though we’re guessing faster CPU clocks help here.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 3DMark and GFXBench Benchmarks
Turning to gaming and graphics, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 got off to an impressive start by moving the upper performance needle in 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited. Up to this point, the score has reached about 10,200. However, Qualcomm’s latest silicon reached 11,000, beating its previous best result by 8.2%.
Before we go any further, it’s worth noting that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 handled 3DMark’s 20-minute wild life stress test like a champ. This is worth noting as it means that the SoC will not throttle as quickly and performance may suffer. The point to note is that the blame isn’t solely on the silicon, but also on the handset, especially its on-board thermal solution. shows that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is indeed power efficient and can maintain high performance levels for an extended period of time.
The improved performance carried over to GFXBench, where the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 hit a new high score of 475 frames per second. We can also see that there’s a pretty big gap between the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and the Dimensity 9000.
Another GFXBench test, same story — the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 again took pole position, beating out its non-Plus siblings and MediaTek’s best offering (although the gap isn’t that big here).
Finally, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 swept the Vulkan benchmark once again by taking the top spot. We don’t have a robust set of results to compare against, but we can confirm that it performs slightly better than the previous generation flagship.
Qualcomm’s final thoughts on the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Given what we already know about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, it’s no surprise that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 performed quite well in various benchmarks. We weren’t sure if the performance boost lived up to Qualcomm’s claims, but as far as testing goes, it most likely does.
Perhaps even more impressive, it handled the 3DMark stress test quite well. Qualcomm claims a significant improvement in power efficiency. This not only improves battery life, but also ensures that your smartphone can perform near peak for extended periods of time. It obviously relies on cooling as well, but our reference prototype proves it’s not the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 that’s going back.
We can’t wait to see how future flagship Android phones take advantage of Qualcomm’s latest silicon. To that end, Qualcomm can look at devices from major OEMs and brands such as ASUS ROG, Black Shark, Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, Oppo, OSOM, RealMe, Redmagic, Redmi, Vivo, Xiaomi. says it can. , and ZTE.
In other words, all the heavy hitters that suggest a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 powered gaming phone is on the horizon. As for timing, Qualcomm says commercial devices will start appearing in the third quarter of this year, perhaps he’s in July.
