Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 for Android Smartphones

Image: Snapdragon

Qualcomm today announced the new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Android smartphones, bringing generational improvements in mobile gaming, photography, videography, audio, and more.

“Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 Mobile Platform unleashes legendary entertainment with exceptional performance gains system-wide, including CPU, GPU, AI, and power efficiency,” the company said.

The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip is designed to power mid-range Android smartphones. It is the latest addition to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7-series, which is positioned one step down from the company’s flagship 8-series lineup. Qualcomm announced its latest 8-series chip for Android flagships, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, in November 2022.

According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip offers over 50% more CPU performance and double the GPU performance as compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. It boosts up to 2.91GHz, and it is also up to 13% more power efficient for improved battery life.

Image: Snapdragon

Qualcomm also noted that the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip has an integrated Qualcomm AI Engine for on-device AI tasks, which the company said delivers double the AI performance of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 while also offering 40% better performance per watt.

“Snapdragon is synonymous with premium mobile experiences. Today’s launch of the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 illustrates our ability to bring some of the most in-demand flagship features to our Snapdragon-7 series—making them accessible to more people,” said Christopher Patrick, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Handsets.

“We are committed to delivering the most innovative solutions to meet the needs of consumers, our customers, and the industry at large.”

Qualcomm boasts superior low-light photography for the new chip, which has an 18-bit Triple ISP that can capture photos in “mega low light mode” by snapping and merging the best parts of 30 images into one for a brighter, clearer, and more colourful shot in low-light conditions. Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 supports camera sensors of up to 200MP.

The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip also gets flagship-level features from Snapdragon’s higher-tier platforms, like Auto Variable Rate Shading (VRS) and Volumetric Rendering for mobile gaming.

In addition, it features support for high-speed 5G and Wi-Fi connectivity with the Snapdragon X62 5G Modem and the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Wi-Fi chip.

The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 offers download speeds of up to 4.4 Gbps, support for more networks and frequencies, improved power efficiency, and, for the first time on a 7-series chip, support for 5G/4G Dual-Sim Dual Active (DSDA). According to a recent report, Qualcomm is also working on bringing satellite connectivity to Android phones.

Qualcomm said that Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 will be adopted by key OEM brands, including Redmi and realme, with the first commercial devices powered by the new chip coming as early as this month. You can click here to learn more about Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2.