Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in May 2022, and later that year released its successor — Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Both are high-performance chipsets fabricated using TSMC’s 4nm process node.
Both Qualcomm chips are already powering many high-end phones from major brands, such as Samsung, iQOO, OnePlus, and Xiaomi. From the name itself, it’s clear that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is an upgrade to the 8+ Gen 1. But is it an impactful upgrade or just an outright overhaul? Let’s see the key differences between them and how they perform on benchmarks.
| SD 8+ Gen 1 | SD 8 Gen 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Release Date | May 2022 | November 2022 |
| Process Node | 4nm (TSMC) | 4nm (TSMC) |
| CPU | 1 x Cortex-X2 @ 3.2 GHz 3 x Cortex-A710 @ 2.75 GHz 4 x Cortex-A510 @ 2.0 GHz | 1 x Cortex-X3 @ 3.2 GHz 2 x Cortex-A715 @ 2.8 GHz 2 x Cortex-A710 @ 2.8 GHz 3 x Cortex-A510 @ 2.0 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 730 | Adreno 740 |
| Gaming | Snapdragon Elite Gaming Unreal Engine 5 support Variable Rate Shading Pro Volumetric Rendering Adreno Frame Motion Engine | Snapdragon Elite Gaming Hardware Accelerated Ray Tracing Game Post Processing Accelerators Vulkan 1.3 APIs support Unreal Engine 5 MetaHumans framework support |
| NPU | Hexagon NPU | Hexagon NPU |
| Memory | Up to 24 GB LPDDR5 @ 3200 MHz | Up to 24 GB LPDDR5X @ 4200 MHz |
| Storage | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1, UFS 4.0 |
| Camera | Triple 18-bit Spectra ISP Up to 200MP single camera 108MP single camera @ 30fps with ZSL 64MP + 36MP dual camera @ 30fps with ZSL 36MP + 36MP + 36MP triple camera @ 30fps with ZSL *ZSL = Zero Shutter Lag | Triple 18-bit Spectra ISP Up to 200MP single camera 108MP single camera @ 30fps with ZSL 64MP + 36MP dual camera @ 30fps with ZSL 36MP + 36MP + 36MP triple camera @ 30fps with ZSL *ZSL = Zero Shutter Lag |
| Video Recording | 8K @ 30fps / 4K @ 120fps / 720p @ 960fps Video formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG | 8K @ 30fps / 4K @ 120fps / 720p @ 960fps Video formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG |
| Display | On-device: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 Hz, QHD+ @ 144 Hz External: 4K @ 60 Hz HDR10+ | On-device: 4K Ultra HD @ 60 Hz, QHD+ @ 144 Hz External: 4K @ 60 Hz HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid |
| Modem | Snapdragon X65 5G Downlink: 10 Gbps Uplink: 3.5 Gbps | Snapdragon X70 5G Downlink: 10 Gbps Uplink: 3.5 Gbps |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi: Qualcomm FastConnect 6900; Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 4 Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.3, LE Audio, aptX Voice, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive | Wi-Fi: Qualcomm FastConnect 7800; Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 4 Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.3, LE Audio, aptX Voice, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive |
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 vs 8 Gen 2: Benchmarks
Geekbench 6:
It’s a CPU-centric test that runs a device through a series of computation workloads, including compression (text & images), encryption, physics simulations, rendering, ray tracing, and speech recognition.
The benchmarking platform outputs single-core and multi-core results. The former shows the device’s capability when a single core is used, and the latter measures CPU performance when multiple cores are at work.
- SD 8+ Gen 1:
- Single-core: 1640
- Multi-core: 3876
- SD 8 Gen 2:
- Single-core: 1935
- Multi-core: 4888
As expected, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 scores better than the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The newer chip is around 20% faster, as per the above Geekbench results.
AnTuTu 10:
AnTuTu is a popular benchmarking platform that measures the CPU, GPU, memory, and UX performance of devices.
- SD 8+ Gen 1:
- CPU: 221367
- GPU: 455312
- Memory: 137730
- UX: 194413
- Total score: 1008822
- SD 8 Gen 2:
- CPU: 241499
- GPU: 576754
- Memory: 175209
- UX: 215835
- Total score: 1209297
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 rocks on the AnTuTu benchmark as well. It has around 20% higher AnTuTu points than the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
Other benchmarks:
We also tested smartphones powered by these two Qualcomm chips on the Burnout Benchmark to measure the power consumption.
Again, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has managed to beat the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. According to the benchmarking results, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 consumes less power to achieve the same performance as the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1.
In the CPU throttling test, both Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 8 Plus Gen 1 achieve similar peak values. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 maintains its performance better than the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, though are excellent.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 vs 8 Gen 2: Key Differences
CPU:
Both Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 8 Gen 2 are octa-core chips engineered using TSMC’s cutting-edge 4nm technology. However, they have different core clusters. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 has one prime core, three performance cores, and four power-efficiency cores, whereas the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has one prime core, four performance cores, and three power-efficiency cores.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has Cortex-X3 as its prime core, which is more powerful and efficient than the Cortex-X2 inside the SD 8+ Gen 1. The newer chip also has two Cortex-A715 cores, which are superior to Cortex-A710 in terms of performance and efficiency. Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has a better core configuration.
GPU:
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 also has better GPU performance as it’s equipped with Adreno 740 (vs. Adreno 730 in the 8+ Gen 1). According to Qualcomm, the Adreno 740 offers a 25% performance improvement compared to the Adreno 730. Both chips come with a full suite of Snapdragon Elite Gaming features, though the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 lacks hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
AI Performance:
Both Qualcomm chips have advanced Hexagon NPU with Qualcomm AI Engine. Qualcomm says the 7th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine inside the SD 8+ Gen 1 is up to 4x faster and delivers up to 20% better performance than its predecessor, whereas the SD 8 Gen 2 is 4.35x faster than its predecessor. Smartphone brands are now putting much effort into bringing more and more on-device AI features. Hence, the AI capability of a chip is going to be more relevant in the future.
Memory & Storage:
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 8 Gen 2 have the same maximum RAM capability, although there’s a big difference in speeds. The former supports LPDDR5 RAM at 3200 MHz, while the latter supports faster LPDDR5X RAM at 4200 MHz. Since the SD 8 Gen 2 has faster RAM support, you will experience faster app loading and excellent overall performance.
The storage is also faster on the newer chip as it supports UFS 4.0, while the SD 8+ Gen 1 only supports UFS 3.1. The UFS 4.0 is nearly 2x faster than UFS 3.1 while consuming 46% less power.
Connectivity:
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is equipped with the X65 5G modem, while the 8 Gen 2 has a newer modem, the X70 5G. The newer modem offers the same 10 Gbps peak download speed as the X65, but it brings new AI features and 4x downlink carrier aggregation to get closer to achieving those speeds while consuming less power, thanks to improved PowerSave technology and a 4nm chip design.
The newer chip has a Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 connectivity system, which supports Wi-Fi 7. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, on the other hand, has an integrated Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 that supports up to Wi-Fi 6E. The rest of the connectivity features are almost identical.
Others:
The two Qualcomm chips barely have more differences. Both have triple 18-bit Spectra ISP with up to 200MP single camera support. The two chips support up to 8K HDR video recording at 30fps and 720p slow-mo videos at 960fps. They also support Qualcomm Aqstic and Qualcomm aptX audio technologies.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 vs 8 Gen 2: Conclusion
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a much better upgrade over the 8 Gen 1. However, it lags behind the 8 Gen 2 in terms of performance and efficiency, though the difference isn’t significant.
Qualcomm hasn’t made major CPU improvements to the 8 Gen 2 as one would expect in a new-generation chip, though the GPU performance is significantly better.
So, unless you’re a fan of high-end gaming that requires a lot of GPU work, you should go for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is available at a lower price than Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones.
Popular Chip Comparisons:
1. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2
2. Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 7+ Gen 3
3. Dimensity 9300+ vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Comments