Cheap smartphones will become more powerful and get AI functions: Qualcomm presented Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 – the first chip on ARMv9

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 octa-core mobile processor. This is the first ARMv9-based smartphone chip and the first Snapdragon 6-series processor to be manufactured using TSMC’s 4nm process. Previous generations of chips were manufactured using Samsung’s 4nm process and TSMC’s 6nm process.

Image Source: Qualcomm

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 has one main Cortex-A720 core with a frequency of 2.3 GHz, three high-performance Cortex-A720 cores with a frequency of 2.2 GHz, and four energy-efficient Cortex-A520 cores with a frequency of 1.8 GHz. Previous generations of Qualcomm 6-series processors on the ARMv8 architecture used combinations of Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 cores.

Despite the transition to a new architecture and an updated set of cores, Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 provides only a moderate increase in computing performance – only 11% (according to the single-core test Geekbench 5.2). At the same time, the new Adreno graphics processor in the chip demonstrates a more significant increase in performance – by 29% compared to its predecessor. The company does not specify which GPU is used in the new processor. In addition, the chip has become 12% more energy efficient than its predecessor.

Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 is the first in the series to support INT4 calculations. This will allow optimized AI models with a large number of parameters to work in a limited amount of RAM. For example, Qualcomm is developing AI algorithms for text summarization. The company said that the memory requirements for running LLM locally on devices with Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 will be minimal, but did not disclose details.

The chip supports up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM with a frequency of up to 3200 MHz, as well as LPDDR4X with a frequency of 2133 MHz. In addition, there is support for UFS 3.1 flash memory and a USB-C 3.1 interface, which allows you to connect an external display with a resolution of up to 4K and a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Support for 10-bit color and HDR10+ is also declared.

The integrated Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 graphics core supports displays with resolutions up to 1080p+ and refresh rates up to 144Hz. Snapdragon Game Super Resolution (upscaling in games up to 4K) and Adreno Frame Motion Engine (generating intermediate frames, doubling the frame rate without increasing power consumption) are also available.

The chip is equipped with a triple 12-bit ISP with support for camera sensors with a resolution of up to 200 MP. It allows you to record 4K HDR video at up to 30 frames per second. Support for HDR10 and HLG formats for video and 10-bit HEIF for photos is also declared. The built-in hardware accelerator supports playback of H.265 and VP9 formats, but not AV1.

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 networking capabilities include a 5G modem with support for Sub-6 GHz (4×4 MIMO) and mmWave (2×2 MIMO) bands with download speeds of up to 2.9 Gbps. There is also support for Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Adaptive. The GPS receiver supports tri-frequency positioning (L1/L5/L2).

The first Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 smartphones will be presented by Realme, Oppo and Honor. This is expected to happen “in the coming months”, but exact dates have not yet been announced. Manufacturers are positioning the new chip for devices in the price range of $100-150.