Qualcomm's biggest release of the year is always its flagship chipsets, but arguably the most important release is its range of mid-range chips. Most people aren't buying flagship phones, but they want a device that will still last a number of years and be reasonably powerful for most of what they want to do. That's why the Snapdragon 7 series exists, and the company has just announced the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2.
First and foremost, to allay any confusion, the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 is the first second-generation Snapdragon 7 series chipset; in other words, there wasn't a "base" Snapdragon 7 Gen 2. Qualcomm tells me this is because it's changing how it names its chipsets: the '+' symbol no longer represents a minor improvement over a previous chipset, but rather, it "represents platforms that sit at the top of their tier/series." The company also made sure to note that while it can't comment on if there would be a base 7 Gen 2 or not, in this scenario, there can be one.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2: Specifications
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 (sm7475) |
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CPU |
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GPU |
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Display |
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AI |
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Memory |
LPDDR5 @ 3200 MHz |
ISP |
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Modem |
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Charging |
Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 |
Connectivity |
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Manufacturing Process |
4nm TSMC |
The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 packs specifications that seem to poise it as a bit of a downgrade from last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but on TSMC's fabrication process. It has the same core layout but at a lower clock frequency, though the company didn't share many details about the GPU. It's just an "Adreno" GPU, which doesn't tell us a whole lot of where it sits in the wider Snapdragon portfolio. All Qualcomm says is that it "boasts up to 2x improved performance", presumably when compared to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.
Other noteworthy improvements include Qualcomm's Spectra Triple 18-bit image signal processor (ISP), the Snapdragon X62 5G modem-RF system, a dedicated Trust Management Engine, Android Ready SE for digital car keys and IDs, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 support. Most of these features were also in the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, and there's no Wi-Fi 7 support or a newer 5G modem.
Qualcomm says commercial devices based on the new Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 platform from OEMs like Redmi and Realme will devices using this chipset expected to arrive this month.