'Ultra-high frequency' Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 might be too fast for its own good
Qualcomm may release an overclocked version of the rumored Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that may boast a better GPU than Apple's 16 Bionic that powers the recently announced iPhone 14 range.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that's underneath many Android flagships that were released in the first half of the year received flak for its overheating issues but, in Qualcomm's defense, the problems were tied to Samsung's manufacturing process.
Its spruced-up version, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, is based on TSMC's 4nm tech and is faster and more power efficient. It powers many of the best Android phones of 2022.
Rumors about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 have been swirling around for quite some time with the most recent one implying that Qualcomm will be prioritizing energy efficiency over performance.
Presumably, to appease those who wouldn't want to compromise on performance or are easily swayed by performance comparisons done by companies like Apple, Qualcomm may release an "ultra-high frequency version" of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
This rumor comes from tipster Digital Chat Station. He indicates that the prime core will have clock speeds in the 3.4-3.5GHz range. For comparison, Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1's prime core is clocked at 3.2GHz and the A16 Bionic, which Apple claims is 40 percent faster than rival chips, features high-performance cores with clock speeds of 3.46GHz.
The leaker also says that the chip's GPU, which past reports had said would be called the Adreno 740, will beat Apple's A-series SoCs, but it's not clear if he is referring to the A16 Bionic, which comes with a very impressive GPU.
On the surface, it looks like Qualcomm is directly coming at Apple. Qualcomm may also be trying to establish dominance over other rivals such as Samsung, which makes Exynos chips but is sitting out the SoC race this year, Google, which now makes its own chips for its Pixel phones, and MediaTek, which has been doing impressive work lately.
As much as we are rooting for Qualcomm, considering past rumors that had wrongly hyped Android chips, it's best to take this rumor with a pinch of salt and the main takeaway anyway is that the company might release a beefed-up version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Also, the biggest concern is whether the rumored clock speeds will cause devices to overheat.
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