For years, the question “what is the most powerful mobile?” he had only one possible answer: “the latest iPhone”. By developing its own chips, Apple has managed to raise the bar every year, and Android makers have, quite frankly, been left behind.
[Qualcomm presenta el chip que llevarán todos los móviles más importantes de 2023: el Snapdragon 8 Gen 2]
Qualcomm is largely responsible. After dominating the market, it is clear that the manufacturer rested on its laurels, opting for incremental improvements rather than the revolution that the industry needed. It is therefore normal that it is Qualcomm that puts an end to this situation.
The power of the new Snapdragon
After so many years, it looks like mainstream Android phones will finally be as powerful as the latest iPhone models, and it’s all thanks to the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2; Although it was presented last November, it is now that the first models are hitting the market, and the first impressions are very good.
According to tests published on Twitter by @Golden_Reviewer using a Xiaomi 13, the new Qualcomm processor assumes a significant leap from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1and even regarding the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the revision that improved the efficiency aspects.
We get better CPU efficiency from the Snapdragon 8 Gen2 on Xiaomi 13.
Now the big core efficiency seems to be on par with SD8+G1 despite performing 10% better.
For mid-cores, A715 is a super minor bump over A710 and you can consider them the same as SD8+G1. pic.twitter.com/v7lNok8QIZ— Golden Reviewer (@Golden_Reviewer) December 29, 2022
Of course, you might be worried that this will translate to less battery life and more heat generated by the processor; however, the analysis shows that the efficiency of the most powerful cores of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is equal to that of the 8+ Gen 1, despite being 10% more powerful.
In fact, it seems that Qualcomm has mainly focused on improving these 4 “big cores”, cores that are activated at times when we need high performance, such as demanding applications or video games; the efficient cores haven’t changed much from the last generation, and that’s perhaps Qualcomm’s biggest complaint.
But the important thing, as underlined Max Weinbach, is that this power boost means the latest Apple processor is a stone’s throw away. GPU question, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can beat the Apple A16 used in the iPhone 14 Pro, so the games should be fine; On the CPU side, it’s still a little behind, but basically equal.
Perhaps the best thing is that the future also looks bright. Rumors indicate that Apple could change its philosophy with the next generation of iPhone, focusing on efficiency rather than power; and Qualcomm has the trump card in its sleeve in Nuvia, the manufacturer founded by former Apple employees which it bought in early 2021, and which will influence its future chips. Thus, we would not be surprised if in the near future Android phones are more powerful than iPhones.
You may be interested
Follow the topics that interest you