Four months after announcing its new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Plus and Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, Qualcomm is boosting its entry-level by announcing the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1. These two new chips provide improvements and new features in both photo and AI .
Unsurprisingly, Qualcomm is completing the upgrade of its various Snapdragon chips, in turn improving the entry-level benchmarks. Failing to sparkle as much as the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 7 Gen 1 (launched in May on the high and mid-range, respectively), the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1 improve at their scale by focusing mainly on photography and AI.
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1: what’s new?
Let’s start by looking at the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, which promises to be significantly faster than its predecessor. Qualcomm speaks of 35% more performance on the GPU side and 40% more power on the CPU field. These performances allow the chip to be more comfortable in the game and in everyday activities. There is also support for display in Full HD + up to 120 Hz, which was not the case before. Affordable smartphones will therefore once again be able to move upmarket.
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 can also bring to its credit a 12-bit ISP Qualcomm Spectra, support for sensors up to 200 Mpx, as well as HDR video capture. A first in this range. The chip finally takes advantage of a new engine allowing tripled performance in AI. Perfect for photography, but also to improve energy management… and therefore the autonomy of the smartphones on which the 6 Gen 1 will be installed. The chip finally gets a new Snapdragon X62 Gen 4 modem allowing better 5G reception and a stronger Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth 5.2 connection.
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, an affordable (slightly) more attractive SoC
More affordable, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 inevitably benefits from more timid improvements. In its press release, Qualcomm thus mentions a small boost in CPU (+15%) and GPU (+10%) performance, which allows the chip to be a little more attractive, especially since the fast charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 + makes its appearance to recover up to 50% battery in 15 minutes on mains. On the connectivity side, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is also making some progress by adopting a Snapdragon X51 modem offering better 5G speeds. On the other hand, we are limited here to Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Like its big brother, Qualcomm’s most affordable SoC finally improves on the photo and to a lesser extent on the AI. Now supporting sensors up to 108 Mpx (or up to three 13 Mpx sensors simultaneously), it can also count on a Qualcomm Spectra ISP, but probably less efficient. As for the AI, it is progressing on the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, of course, but mainly to optimize call quality and fine-tune the experience according to your habits and routines of use.
Source: Qualcomm press release
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