Qualcomm may have been forced to change the release schedule for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus processor, but it appears to be managing to stick to its release plan for the next premium chip.
The first specifications of Qualcomm’s next top chip, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is expected to be announced in late 2022, have already been revealed.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 arrives at the end of the year with the same architecture as the previous model
Qualcomm was set to announce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, an upgraded version of its top chip, this May. But an outbreak of Covid-19 in China will have changed the manufacturer’s plans, which should only announce this chip in the second half of 2022.
But by all accounts, this was the only change to Qualcomm’s announcement schedule. The manufacturer is working on the successor to the premium chip which, for now, is scheduled to arrive at the end of 2022.
Now the first specifications of the brand new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip have been released, which will have this designation following the new nomenclature defined by Qualcomm for its range of processors.
According to the information released, the new chip will arrive with the same architecture as the previous model, and the cores will be located in three clusters according to the “1+3+4” scheme.
In practice, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will integrate a Cortex X series supercore, three high-performance cores and four cores dedicated to energy efficiency.
The same sources also mention the introduction of a new Snapdragon X70 5G modem that will provide a maximum data transfer speed of up to 10 Gbps, in addition to an improved neural engine that will streamline all operations related to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Delayed Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus Announcement Could Cause Several New Smartphones To Be Delayed
As we have already mentioned, Qualcomm will have been forced to postpone the announcement of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus for the second half of this year. The direct consequence of this decision is that many brands will also be forced to postpone the launch of their new smartphones equipped with the processor in question.
Motorola and Xiaomi are undoubtedly among the brands that will delay the arrival of Frontier and Xiaomi 12 Ultra, respectively. Both terminals are in charge of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chip and its launch would be (and is) subject to Qualcomm’s announcement.
Since the chipmaker postponed the unveiling of this version of its premium chip, the two Chinese smartphone brands will not be able to meet the planned launch schedule that would take place during the month of May, following Qualcomm’s announcement.
In a medium-term perspective, this decision by Qualcomm may also affect the launch of Samsung’s new foldables, Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4, intended to integrate the processor.
For now, the South Korean giant is expected to launch the new foldables in early August, but if Qualcomm is expected to announce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus for a later date, Samsung will have to redo its release schedule.