Now, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 follows in the footsteps of the Snapdragon 695 from last year. You get a lot of improvements on the table, including 35% improved GPU performance and up to 40% improvement in CPU performance.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is a Stellar Mid-Range Chip with Lots of Premium Features
As expected, Qualcomm has not shared complete details about the architecture, but the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is a 4nm chip with an octa-core Kryp CPU that is clocked at up to 2.2GHz. You are also getting an unspecified Adreno GPU with Vulkan 1.1, OpenGL ES 3.2, and OpenCL 2.0 FP API support. The GPU also brings HDR gaming, a hardware accelerated H.256 and VP9 decode, and HDR Playback Codec support for HLG. Additionally, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 supports up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM clocked at 2750MHz and UFS 3.1 storage.
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 includes a dedicated 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine with always-on 3rd gen Sensing Hub and a next-gen Qualcomm Hexagon Tensor Accelerator that will help with AI network performance. You are also getting a 5G modem as the chipset features Snapdragon X62 5G Modem-RF system that offers support for both mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G connectivity, 5G PowerSave 2.0 for better power efficiency along with 5G multi-SIM support. It also is the first chipset to have support for Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6700 system, which introduces Wi-Fi 6E support and Bluetooth 5.2 with LE Audio. As far as the cameras are concerned, the chipset brings Qualcomm Spectra 12-bit Triple ISP with support for up to three 13-megapixel cameras, 25+16-megapixel camera support, or single 48-megapixel camera support. The ISP also offers 4K HDR video capture at 30FPS, slow-motion 720p video at 240FPS, hardware-based multi-frame noise reduction, and AI-based face detection, auto-focus, and auto-exposure. Other important features include Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ support, dual-frequency GNSS, Sensor Assisted Positioning, and up to FHD+ 120Hz on-device display support.
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 Not for You? Look at the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
We then have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, this one follows the Snapdragon 480 Plus from last year and brings a number of improvements, including up to 10% improved GPU performance and up to 15% better CPU performance. Qualcomm once again has not shared all the details about its architecture, but the company has confirmed that the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 features a 6nm chip that features a 64-bit Kryp CPU clocked at up to 2GHz and an unspecified Adreno GPU with Vulkan 1.1, OpenGL ES 3.2, and OpenCL 2.0 API support. The chipset also brings LPDDR4X memory support at up to 2133MHz, as well as eMMC 5.1 and UFS 2.2 storage support.
While the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 doesn’t get the 7th-gen AI Engine, the chipset does bring 5G support thanks to the Snapdragon X51 Modem-RF system. It also gets the FastConnect 6200 System, delivering Wi-Fi 5 support and Bluetooth 5.2 The Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is also the first Snapdragon 4 series chipset that features Qualcomm Spectra 12-bit Triple ISP with Multi-frame Noise Reduction and Triple Concurrent photo and video capture. Devices featuring the chip can deliver up to 13-megapixel cameras, a 25+13-megapixel dual camera system, or a single 32-megapixel camera. The ISP also enables 1080p Single Video Capture at 60FPS, 1080p Dual Video Capture at 30FPS, 720p Slow Motion Video capture at 120FPS, and HEIC photo capture. Other features include the Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+, dual-frequency GNSS, Sensor-Assisted Positioning, and up to 120Hz on FHD+ displays. At the time of writing, Qualcomm has not shared the details on the availability of these chips or the names of the OEM partners. However, we will keep you posted as we get more information on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1.
