OPINION: Qualcomm has simply lifted the lid on the upgraded Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, the chipset that sits simply beneath its flagship 8 Gen sequence. It feels like a strong improve with some beforehand unique 8 Gen options trickling right down to the marginally extra reasonably priced chipset, however the query is, will any producers truly use it? I’m not so positive.
Don’t get me improper, my scepticism doesn’t come from the truth that it’s not an excellent chipset – fairly the other truly. In keeping with Qualcomm, the brand new Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 boasts as much as a 50% increase in efficiency in comparison with its predecessor with as much as 2.91GHz clock speeds, a 2x increase to the Adreno GPU and a 13% increase to power effectivity.
It’s additionally designed to maintain cool below strain, with claims of having the ability to ship over 40 minutes of high-intensity gameplay with none type of degradation in body price. Throw in options like aptX Lossless, auto variable price shading and dual-SIM twin lively capabilities beforehand unique to the top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen sequence, and also you’ve acquired a strong cell chipset.
As an alternative, my issues about widespread adoption come from the truth that the previous-gen Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 remained a distinct segment chipset that made an look in only a few telephones. Whereas it was utilized in a handful of China-only smartphones just like the Xiaomi Civi 2, it actually solely made an look within the international market with the Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G NE and, most not too long ago, the Xiaomi 13 Lite.
That actually doesn’t bode properly for the upgraded Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2. However why aren’t producers utilizing it extra typically?
That’s an advanced query that’ll possible have a special reply relying on which model you communicate to, however in my thoughts, it’s right down to a mixture of pricing and branding.
Qualcomm sees the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 utilized in premium mid-range smartphones that value between $400-600. The difficulty is that, at that value level, some producers merely resolve to go for an older Snapdragon 8 Gen chipset. We’ve seen this with the likes of the $599 Realme GT 2 Professional
This not solely performs higher and has entry to the complete suite of premium 8 Gen options, nevertheless it additionally appears higher to customers because it was a chipset that was utilized in top-end flagships not that way back.
Will that change with the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 in 2023? Probably, however I do have my doubts. Qualcomm has confirmed that two cellphone companions are all for utilizing the brand new 7 Plus Gen 2 chipset in upcoming smartphones, however that pales compared to the suite of firms that decide to the top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen chipsets.
