Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1 chips

Qualcomm has announced its newest mid-range chipsets, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1, set to be available in Q1 2023 and Q3 2022, respectively.

The announcement comes after a leak revealed many details about the company’s 6 Gen 1 chip. The leak appears to be pretty spot on. Aside from the name change, which brings the 6-series chips in line with the more powerful 7- and 8-series chips, the 6 Gen 1 boasts more power, performance, and 5G capabilities.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 sports a new triple image signal processor (ISP) that enables capture from up to three cameras simultaneously, up to 108-megapixel photos, and video capture with computational HDR. Additionally, Qualcomm included its seventh-gen AI Engine in the 6 Gen 1, enabling “up to 3x improved AI performance compared to its predecessor for intelligent assistance across the board, including AI-based activity tracking.”

The company boasts up to 35 percent quicker graphics rendering and up to 40 percent faster processing on the 6 Gen 1, as well as a Snapdragon X62 5G modem to enable up to 2.9Gbps peak download speeds.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 sports up to 15 percent improved CPU and 10 percent GPU performance, a triple ISP with support for up to 108-megapixel photos and multi-frame noise reduction, and the Qualcomm AI Engine. The 4 Gen 1 also includes the Snapdragon X51 5G modem, which supports up to 2.5Gbps peak download speeds.

Overall, the new Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1 look like they will raise the bar for lower-cost smartphones, although it remains to be seen how well these chips perform in the real world. With 4 Gen 1 devices expected to launch later this year and 6 Gen 1 devices early next year, it shouldn’t be too long before reviewers get a chance to put these chips through the wringer.

Images credit: Qualcomm