Qualcomm renamed the Snapdragon platform last year with the introduction of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The chipset had some nice upgrades, but it had overheating issues.
The chip vendor has corrected course by launching the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 later this year, switching to TSMC’s established 4nm node via Samsung LSI. This shift has resulted in significant efficiency gains, making gen 8 and above a little more exciting than the usual mid-cycle refresh.
Qualcomm is doing something a little different again for 2023. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will feature four different Cortex cores in a new configuration. It’s still built on the 4nm node, but sees a noticeable jump in thermal efficiency.
I’ve used the iQOO 11 with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for the better part of a month, testing it side by side with the best Android smartphones of 2022. Let’s see what we get with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and if it’s a noticeable upgrade.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs. 8+ Gen 1 vs. 8 Gen 1: Hardware Overview
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64-bit hardware is clearly the way forward for Qualcomm and the industry, but traditional 32-bit use cases are still needed, so the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will feature a combination of the latest and last generation Cortex cores. I’m doing it.
But what’s interesting this year is Qualcomm’s first switch to a 1+4+3 core layout. For the past four years, Qualcomm has used his 1+3+4 configuration, with his four energy-efficient cores doing most of the heavy lifting of everyday tasks. There’s one less core this time around, but the overall optimization of the architecture gives a net benefit in terms of efficiency of things.
Here’s a hardware overview:
| Category | snapdragon 8 generation 2 | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 | snapdragon 8 generation 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1 x 3.2GHz Cortex X3, 2 x 2.8GHz Cortex A715, 2 x 2.8GHz Cortex A710, 3 x 2.0GHz Cortex A510 | 1x 3.19GHz Cortex X2, 3x 2.75GHz Cortex A710, 4x 1.8GHz Cortex A510 | 1 x 3.0GHz Cortex X2, 3 x 2.5GHz Cortex A710, 4 x 1.8GHz Cortex A510 |
| GPUs | Adreno 740 | Adreno 730 | Adreno 730 |
| screen | 4K at 60Hz, QHD+ at 144Hz | 4K at 60Hz, QHD+ at 144Hz | 4K at 60Hz, QHD+ at 144Hz |
| memory | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| connectivity | Snapdragon X70 5G modem, up to 10Gbit downlink, FastConnect 7800 with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 | Snapdragon X65 5G modem, up to 10Gbit downlink, FastConnect 6900 with Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.2 | Snapdragon X65 5G modem, up to 10Gbit downlink, FastConnect 6900 with Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| camera | 200MP Single Shot, 108MP Zero Shutter Lag, 64MP + 36MP Zero Shutter Lag, 10-bit HEIF | 200MP Single Shot, 108MP Zero Shutter Lag, 64MP + 36MP Zero Shutter Lag, 10-bit HEIF | 200MP Single Shot, 108MP Zero Shutter Lag, 64MP + 36MP Zero Shutter Lag, 10-bit HEIF |
| video | 8K HDR video at 30fps, 4K at 120fps, 720p at 960fps | 8K HDR video at 30fps, 4K at 120fps, 720p at 960fps | 8K HDR video at 30fps, 4K at 120fps, 720p at 960fps |
| decoding | AV1, H.265, VP9 | H.265, VP9 | H.265, VP9 |
| manufacturing node | TSMC 4nm | TSMC 4nm | samsung 4nm |
With a new core configuration focused on performance clusters, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 delivers better performance in multi-core workloads. The decision to use the older Cortex A710 and A510 cores was clearly necessary as they needed to work with 32-bit apps. This is not a Play Store issue, but the situation is a little different in China, where Qualcomm sells. Huge installed base.
There are a lot of favorites at the forefront of the game, and the Adreno 740 shows a significant uptick over last year’s Adreno 730. What’s interesting here is that Ray has his tracings. Therefore, it is possible that we will see mobile games leveraging this technology.
New for this generation is AV1 decoding. This was an obvious omission last year, so it’s good to see Qualcomm making a fix. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 also gets a new Wi-Fi modem, including Wi-Fi 7, but the lack of Wi-Fi 7 routers at the moment makes it unlikely that most manufacturers will take advantage of this feature. It is low.
Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 uses the same foundations as last year and there are no major changes in terms of imaging.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs. 8+ Gen 1 vs. 8 Gen 1: Performance
I’m using the iQOO 11 as a baseline for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the ASUS Zenfone 9 for the 8+ Gen 1, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra for the 8 Gen 1.
| Category | snapdragon 8 generation 2 | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 | snapdragon 8 generation 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossmark (Overall) | 1074 | 1008 | 999 |
| Productivity | 968 | 967 | 980 |
| Creativity | 1148 | 1042 | 990 |
| responsiveness | 1202 | 1036 | 1087 |
| Geekbench 5.1 (single core) | 1474 | 1311 | 1005 |
| Geekbench 5.1 (multicore) | 4760 | 4286 | 3152 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (Score) | 2838 | 2801 | 2098 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (FPS) | 17 | 16.75 | 12.55 |
Thanks to the new core config, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 significantly outperforms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and 8+ Gen 1 in multi-core scores, with the Cortex X3 slightly outperforming the X2 in single-core workloads. good.
The Adreno 740 has a big advantage over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in particular. This is due to the thermal throttling issues that plagued Qualcomm’s 2022 platform.The 8+ Gen 1 didn’t have these issues, so it’s pretty much on par with the 8 Gen 2 in Wild Life Extreme in 3DMark.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 gives a noticeable boost, but in real life I didn’t notice a difference. It’s super smooth, and I didn’t see any slowdowns on the 8 Gen 1.
This isn’t a new phenomenon, Qualcomm’s high-end platforms have provided plenty of headroom for some time now, and even going back to the Snapdragon 888 didn’t cause any problems while gaming.
So if you’re thinking that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be noticeably faster in everyday use, it’s not. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is very good for gaming and manages to deliver sustained performance without any throttling.
The best part is that it doesn’t overheat even during long gaming sessions. So if you play a lot of games on your phone and you’re looking to upgrade this year, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is going to do just fine.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs 8+ Gen 1 vs 8 Gen 1: Battery Life
Battery life is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s biggest differentiator, and Qualcomm’s tweaks for 2023 give it a noticeable advantage here. Did. We can see the same applies to his other 2023 phones with Qualcomm’s latest silicon.
This is welcome news for those looking for a new phone this year. The 8th Gen 2 delivers excellent numbers even in heavy use, and switching to the new core config makes a noticeable difference in this scenario.
The 8th generation and above have already fixed many of the issues in this area, and Qualcomm is laying the foundation for it with the 8th generation, the second generation.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 vs 8+ Gen 1 vs 8 Gen 1: Is it worth upgrading?
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 doesn’t offer as many new features, but it definitely makes a difference in the key areas of gaming and battery life. I don’t see any lag or overheating even in gaming sessions. This is not the case with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
There’s also a notable boost on the battery side, which should add anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour of screen-on time over the 8th Gen 1 in the same use case.
Add in AV1 decoding and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 suddenly becomes an attractive option. So if you’re looking to upgrade in 2023, there are plenty of reasons to switch to a smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
