In previous years, the period from the beginning of new year's day to the eve of the Spring Festival was relatively flat, but this year it was particularly lively. At the beginning of 2022, many mobile phone brands have rushed to release their flagship products, such as Xiaomi 12 series, Honor Magic V series, realme GT2 series, iQOO 9 series, etc., one after another, very lively.
Among the flagship phones that have been released, there is a common point, that is, they are equipped with Qualcomm's new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform. After all, Snapdragon's flagship platform has always been the first choice for major flagship mobile phones. Although the chip platform they are equipped with is the same, but a deep study of each mobile phone, it can be found that in fact, they also have their own unique selling points, each with its own strengths.
The most core reason for this effect is naturally due to the comprehensive and rich functions and technologies of the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, just like a resource-rich mine that can be mined by terminal manufacturers with different needs, and then create flagship products with pattern characteristics.
So how does the Snapdragon 8 specifically support these flagship phones with different characteristics? Let's use different products to illustrate this in detail.
Before passing the specific product introduction, we may wish to take a brief look at what new features are available in the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform this year, which will help us to have a deeper understanding of the functional characteristics of different products and how they use the various features of Snapdragon 8 to achieve the required functions.
The new generation snapdragon 8 mobile platform has so many "treasures" to dig
First of all, this year's Snapdragon 8 uses a new Kryo CPU, based on the latest ARMv9 architecture, using Samsung's 4nm process process. Its core architecture includes 1 Cortex-X2 core, up to 3.0GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 3 Cortex-A710 cores, up to 2.5GHz, 512K L2 cache, 4 Cortex-A510 cores, up to 1.8GHz, 6MB L3 cache.
Overall, the Kryo CPU's overall performance improvement is 20% and energy efficiency is 30%.
At the same time, the new generation of Adreno GPUs on the Snapdragon 8 has improved graphics rendering capabilities by 30% and energy efficiency when gaming by 25%, which is excellent. Adreno GPUs also have a variety of features, including several optimizations to the Vulkan graphics driver, which improves mobile gaming performance by up to 60%, and support for the Adreno GPU control panel, VRS Pro, and updatable GPU drivers.
In terms of network connectivity, the Snapdragon 8 uses a 4th generation Snapdragon X65 5G modem and RF system. It is the world's first modem and RF system to support downlink 10Gbps 5G rates, which means that it can achieve more than 10 Gigabit speeds for the first time in a 5G environment. In addition, the Snapdragon X65 uplink can also reach a transmission rate of 3.5Gbps. In addition, the Snapdragon X65 is also the first modem and RF system to comply with the 3GPP Release 16 specification.
As always, the Snapdragon X65 also supports AI antenna coordination technology, a new generation of power tracking solutions, 5G PowerSave 2.0 technology, Qualcomm Smart Transmit 2.0 and other technologies, and uses the 4th generation Qualcomm QTM545 mmWave antenna module.
In terms of Wi-Fi, the Snapdragon 8 integrates the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 network solution, and the Wi-Fi speed doubles to 3.6Gbps.
AI is also one of the core upgrade points of Snapdragon 8. The Snapdragon 8 integrates the 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine in terms of AI. The 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine focuses on improving the performance of hexagon processors, doubling performance while doubling shared memory.
Specifically, the 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine has 4 times faster inference time in a wide range of AI model use cases than the previous generation AI engine, while the AI energy efficiency is 1.7 times faster than the previous generation, and it is also 2 times faster in AI software performance.
In the application of AI, the 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine supports better autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance (3A) and detail on images, as well as advanced features such as AI-based video background bokeh. In the sensor hub module, Qualcomm introduced a new low-power AI subsystem, not only that, it also originally added a always-on ISP, which can be associated with the camera of the terminal to achieve the always-on function of the camera, thus bringing some security features.
In terms of Spectra ISP, Snapdragon 8 has also made a significant upgrade, and the new Spectra ISP is the first ISP in the Qualcomm Spectra series to support 18-bit, and the first smartphone ISP to support 18-bit ISP. 18-bit technology surpasses the configuration of many professional cameras, affecting data items up to 4096 times higher than before.
Spectra ISP's power is also reflected in its insane pixel throughput, which captures 3.2 billion pixels per second, 19% faster than its predecessor, and it can also capture 1.08 pixels at 30fps with a single camera, or 36mps at 30fps each of the three cameras. Or, press the keys to capture 240 12-megapixel images in a single second.
In low-light environments, the new 18-bit Spectra ISP also supports the Super Multiframe Engine, capable of capturing 30 images and combining them into one photo. Photos taken in low-light conditions will have super sharpness, super rich colors, and super brightness.
With this feature, the new Spectra ISP can accurately track every pixel detail in each photo when shooting moving objects (the previous generation could only capture 4×4 pixels of detail). This computational vision capability can make the terminal a big difference in AI imagery.
In terms of video shooting, the Spectra 18-bit ISP will be the first to support 8K HDR video shooting on smartphones, while 8K HDR video can also be shot in HDR10+ format, and compared to the previous generation, Spectra ISP power consumption is reduced by up to 50% in HDR10+ video shooting scenarios.
In addition to imagery, but also audio, Snapdragon 8 began to support CD-quality lossless wireless music, ultra-clear voice calls, low-power audio and other technologies in terms of audio, and made special enhancements to game audio, shifting additional CPU tasks to Qualcomm Hexagon processors for processing, thereby freeing up CPU load, enabling it to provide better audio quality through features such as ultra-high sound quality sound and 360-degree spatial audio.
It can be said that compared with the previous generation, Snapdragon 8 has a full range of upgrades, and the experience improvement points in AI, security, audio, games, imaging and other aspects are very rich, which is why major terminal manufacturers can take what they need and create a new flagship mobile phone with its own characteristics in less than two months.
Flagship phones with different characteristics
After understanding the new features and new features of Snapdragon 8, and then looking at the features and selling points of the Snapdragon 8 flagship mobile phone that has been listed so far, I believe that everyone will have new cognition.
We started from the earliest release of the Xiaomi 12 series, when it comes to the most impressive functional application of the Xiaomi 12 series, Xiaobian prefers the function of everything to focus.
This function uses the powerful computational vision capabilities of Snapdragon 8 to achieve accurate focus on human faces, cats and dogs and other animals and even other objects, always chasing focus, even if the object is in rapid motion, it can always follow the focus.
Behind this feature, it is obviously the powerful AI computing power of the Snapdragon 8's 7th-generation Qualcomm AI engine and the support of the new Spectra ISP super multi-frame engine related technologies.
Taking the Xiaomi Mi 12 Pro as an example, in terms of actual experience effect, the subject is dribbling and running quickly, and the Xiaomi Mi 12 Pro can still accurately chase the focus, without any stuttering or out-of-focus situation.
Under the blessing of the all-things focusing function, the fast scene of capturing the small editor's basket can also be clearly captured, and the characters and balls are not shadows, which shows that the capture ability of the smart phone will go to a new level in the future.
Then we look at another flagship iQOO 9 Pro from iQOO, this phone is equipped with Samsung's flagship sensor GN5 for the first time, and at the same time, on the basis of the GN5 main camera, it has added the unique "micro gimbal" technology of Blue Factory. It can be said that the image capability is an important selling point of the iQOO 9 Pro.
Of course, the quality of the image effect is not only determined by the sensor and lens, but also closely related to the ISP. We know that the Spectra ISP on the Snapdragon 8 is the first ISP to support 18-bit, which brings greatly improved color richness to image performance, but also significantly improved dynamic range.
In order to feel the power of the 18-bit Spectra ISP, Xiaobian found iQOO 9 Pro and iQOO 8 for high dynamic range scene photo comparison, from the following photo comparison can be found that iQOO 9 Pro whether in the dark or on the bridge highlight suppression, dark details, or bush color, the look and feel is better than iQOO 8.
In addition, the new Spectra ISP has a crazy pixel throughput capability, which allows it to support 8K HDR video shooting. IT House also tried to shoot an 8K HDR video with the iQOO 9 Pro.
Although video sites compress clarity, it does not affect the overall picture quality we watch. In the native video, the details of the leaves and the exposure of the sky can be presented more accurately, the dynamic range effect of the picture is indeed excellent, and the quality of the overall straight video is indeed surprising, including the optimization of color, etc., which looks very eye-catching.
Moreover, when shooting 8K HDR video, the iQOO 9 Pro body did not have obvious heating, and the visible power consumption was well controlled. With such great results, the role of the new Spectra ISP is clearly crucial.
Next, let's look at the realme gt2 Pro, which is the opening flagship of realme in 2022, which is also equipped with Snapdragon 8. IT home has actually done a more in-depth experience and evaluation of the realme gt2 Pro, in the evaluation process, the true self GT2 Pro to the editor of the most impressive is its powerful game performance experience. Obviously, this is also inseparable from the powerful performance of the Snapdragon 8.
So how strong is the gaming performance experience of the True Self GT2 Pro? We directly tested the "Original God" known as the performance killer, and when testing, Xiaobian opened the GT mode of the True Self GT2 Pro. Choose the highest quality of the game (choose Extremely High, 60 frames, turn off motion blur in the settings), and the game scene is selected as Wild Wandering + Monster Fighting, which accounts for about one-third of the total game time.
In the 30-minute Pro pro, the True Self GT2 Pro achieved an average frame rate of 60.1fps! In the test far exceeded the expectations of the editor.
In terms of body temperature, the maximum temperature on the back of the true SELF GT2 Pro reaches 44 ° C or so, which is indeed relatively hot, but think of "Original God" can be 60 frames of stable output for half an hour", such a temperature is acceptable.
As we said earlier, the graphics rendering capabilities of the snapdragon 8 new generation Adreno GPU and the energy efficiency of the game have been significantly improved, coupled with the intelligent allocation and control of performance resources by the 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine, it is reasonable to be able to stabilize the Original God at 60fps.
Finally, let's look at a folding flagship, the Honor Magic V. This phone puts aside the folding screen, and the biggest attraction at the system level is undoubtedly the intelligent use experience driven by the Magic live AI engine.
For example, in the scene of business travel, before you leave, Honor Magic V will remind you of the departure time in a timely manner according to your travel habits, when waiting for the flight, if you receive a video conference, you feel that you cannot see the PPT of the video conference presentation with the external screen, you can expand the inner screen at any time, and the content of the video conference will also be seamlessly switched to the inner screen, and the PPT content will be displayed more clearly.
And when the boarding time is approaching, the Honor Magic V will also remind you through the small window or AI capsule that it is time to board. At this time, you close the phone, and the outer screen will automatically jump out of the boarding code.
This series of intelligent capabilities requires the ability of AI computing to always be online, to determine the state of the user's mobile phone, while also maintaining low power consumption. This brings us to the sensor hub module of the Snapdragon 8 7th generation Qualcomm AI engine, which is the key to the Snapdragon 8's ability to support terminals to always maintain AI processing power. In the Snapdragon 8, Qualcomm introduced a new low-power AI subsystem in the sensor hub. The system is a multi-core architecture consisting of a dedicated AI processor, DSP, and its own memory for processing contextual data streams, including speech, audio, sensors, and connectivity. Because of this, Honor Magic V can achieve this intelligent experience of AI always online.
epilogue
From the above analysis and experience, we can see that a number of Snapdragon 8 flagship mobile phones that have been released so far have their own unique functions and selling points, thus bringing consumers a differentiated product experience with their own characteristics. Whether you like to take photos, or pursue performance, or business office workers need efficient intelligent interaction, you can find products that meet your needs.
Everything behind this is inseparable from the comprehensive and powerful capabilities of Snapdragon 8, high-performance computing, AI, imaging capabilities, Snapdragon Elite Gaming, etc., which can help terminal manufacturers create products with different characteristics and excellent experience. Just like all kinds of flowers blooming on the same soil, thousands of purples and thousands of reds are spring. The same is true for the smartphone market, where the flagship products of different brands bloom and do not compete with each other, so that the entire industry can continue to flourish.