On February 28, 2022 at the MWC Conference in Barcelona, Honor Terminals Ltd. officially launched its latest generation flagship product, the Honor Magic4 series. Honor Magic4 is the sincere work of Honor mobile phones, positioned as an all-round wisdom flagship, not only focusing on the previous imaging capabilities, this generation is also full of games, performance, privacy and security and other aspects of the experience.
To achieve a full range of top-notch flagships, of course, it is indispensable to the support of the Snapdragon 8 mobile platform. Snapdragon 8 is currently Qualcomm's strongest flagship SoC chip, and it is the strongest soC chip on the mobile phone in terms of processing performance, game characteristics, connection performance, data security, image ISP and so on.
The new generation of Cortex-X2 super-core pushes the limits of performance
The new Snapdragon 8 features Samsung's most advanced 4nm process design, which consists of 1 Cortex-X2 new large core (3.0GHz) + 3 Cortex-A710 (2.5GHz) + 4 Cortex-A510 (1.8GHz) to form an 8-core solution. From Qualcomm's official data, the new generation of large core Cortex-X2 can improve the specific computing performance of the previous generation of Snapdragon 888 by 20%, and at the same time, due to the process upgrade, it can also reduce power consumption by 30% under the same processing performance.
And the latest Kryo CPU in Snapdragon 8 is upgraded to ARMv9 architecture, ARMv9 in the basis of compatibility with ARMv8 mainly improves security performance, increases vector computing, AI learning and data processing and other aspects of capabilities, the overall performance performance compared to the previous architecture is significantly improved.
For the operation experience of games and large applications, the impact of the processing power of large single core is obvious, especially now that high-end users are pursuing a smooth experience of high frame rate games and high refresh rate screens, then a strong large single core in the flagship SoC is a must. With such a strong performance guarantee, Honor Magic4 naturally does not need to worry about processing power.
In addition, the core processing power of the Cortex-A710 and Cortex-A510 can also ensure that the Honor Magic4 can run smoothly at a low power consumption in daily use. When high performance is not needed, it is mainly handled by these medium and small cores, and the new large core of Cortex-X2 re-participates in the operation of applications with high performance requirements and game runtime, which also ensures the long-term endurance of Honor Magic4.
The new Qualcomm Adreno GPU power has soared
The GPU of this generation of Snapdragon 8 does not specify the specific model as before, but according to official data, the new generation of Qualcomm Adreno GPU can have a 30% increase in computing performance or a 25% reduction in power consumption compared to the Adreno GPU of the previous generation of Snapdragon 888. What's more, the performance of the new generation of Qualcomm Adreno GPUs under the Vulkan game engine has increased by 60% compared to the previous generation, which is a huge improvement.
Now there are many large-scale popular mobile games on the market that have been developed on Vulkan, such as "Light Encounter", "Heavenly Oracle", "New Laughing Pride Jianghu", "Tianya Mingyue Knife" and so on. The point is that Vulkan will be more active in the overall scheduling of the SoC, more friendly to the current multi-threaded CPU, and will not rely too much on single-core performance, so that some low-spec SoCs can also run games more smoothly.
In 3DMark's Wild Life score, the GPU performance of the Snapdragon 8 is almost double the score data of the previous Snapdragon 888. The graphics processing power of the new generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 is absolutely obvious to all.
In fact, not only the Vulkan engine, Qualcomm has also developed a unique optimization for Screen Space Ambient Occlusion in Unreal Engine, which is the technology that AAA games focus on when simulating ambient light interactions in the environment. Compared to the UE4 standard scheme, Qualcomm's optimizations can improve performance by more than 60%. On the Snapdragon platform, Qualcomm also improved the performance of Unreal Engine's Time Domain Anti-Aliasing Technology (TAA) by 50%.
At the same time, Qualcomm will bring a highly optimized Unreal Engine 5 mobile version on the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform next year, when not only will more boutique games land on the Snapdragon platform, Qualcomm Snapdragon will further bring the terminal game level experience to the mobile game platform.
Because in addition to the hardware and game engine upgrades, the Snapdragon platform is also constantly upgrading its own Snapdragon Elite Gaming game features. Qualcomm has developed more than 50 Snapdragon Elite Gaming features to provide users and game manufacturers with a better experience.
Snapdragon Elite Gaming of the Snapdragon 8 generation focuses on introducing some of the features of the terminal game into the Snapdragon platform, including the new ones:
VRS Pro (Variable Resolution Rendering Plus): Building on the previous VRS technology, VRS Pro can also support developers to set variable resolutions based on screen position, enabling the GPU to render large and small pixel groups more efficiently. Provides game developers with finer rendering granularity control, greatly enhancing game performance at the same power resources.
Adreno Frame Motion Engine (Adreno Image Motion Engine): With historical frame data and GPU-optimized motion estimation, games using this technology can perform at nearly twice the frame count at the same power consumption, while maintaining low power consumption at ultra-smooth frame rates.
Stereoscopic rendering: You can realize the particle graphics of the end game level, create a realistic smoke effect, and even float or flow freely according to the environmental conditions, providing players with a more realistic game screen.
This also means that the Glory Magic4 equipped with the Snapdragon 8 mobile platform can not only play the current large-scale mobile games with high image quality, but also have good processing performance and picture quality performance in the future Vulkan engine and Unreal Engine 5 engine, and the new Snapdragon Elite Gaming features also bring more end-game experience, which is obviously a smart flagship product that can fight the future.
At the same time, Honor Magic itself also has features such as GPU Turbo X to improve the efficiency of game rendering, which is very helpful for reducing GPU power consumption and optimizing machine heat.
5G connects everything
For a full range of top flagship mobile phones, the Snapdragon 8 equipped with Honor Maigc4 integrates the 4th generation Of Snapdragon X65 5G modem and RF system, and the Snapdragon 8 is the world's first 5G modem and RF solution that supports theoretical peak download speeds of up to 10Gbps.
At the same time, the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform uses fastConnect 6900 mobile connection system, which can support the fastest Wi-Fi 6/6E Wi-Fi network up to 3.6Gbps. In this way, even if multiple devices are connected to the network in the same network environment, Honor Magic4 can still ensure a stable network connection and better run games and applications.
Based on the FastConnect 6900 mobile connection system, Qualcomm Snapdragon has also added a new feature of Snapdragon Sound Snapdragon listening technology. The end goal is to enable users to deliver a more advanced immersive audio experience, including: listening to CD-quality lossless wireless music, supporting voice sync echo with ultra-low latency for immersive games, and supporting a new shared listening experience with low-power audio technology.
Snapdragon Sound Snapdragon Listening technology supports CD-quality lossless audio up to 16-bit 44.1kHz via Bluetooth, helping to meet consumers' growing demand for lossless audio playback. As people spend more time on calls using earbuds and headsets, we've introduced new ways to achieve ultra-clear calls, including AI-driven noise suppression to support voice enhancement. Snapdragon Sound Snapdragon Listening technology also supports Qualcomm aptX Voice technology, enabling ultra-wideband 32kHz voice call quality for richer, clearer calls.
The Honor Magic4 equipped with the Snapdragon 8 mobile platform is paired with headphone products that support Qualcomm Bluetooth audio technology, so that it has CD-level lossless Bluetooth sound quality, but also brings a clearer recording and call experience.
Vault-level data security
For users who use high-end flagship phones such as the Honor Magic4, information security is absolutely a top priority. Especially in the face of today's complex and trap-ridden Internet environment, in addition to personal privacy, we must pay more attention to the prevention of online fraud.
The new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform supports vault-level security features that can help users protect their personal data. As one of the most secure mobile platforms available today, Snapdragon employs a Defense-in-Depth strategy that supports multiple ranges of security technologies, increasing the complexity of attacks attempting to obtain users' private data. It is also the first Snapdragon platform to feature a dedicated Trust Management Engine that enables greater security and provides an additional root of trust for applications and services. And the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform is the world's first mobile platform that complies with the Android Ready SE standard (new standards for digital car keys, family digital keys, personal ID cards, etc.). In addition, the Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit (SPU) also supports integrated SIM function (iSIM), allowing users to easily and securely connect to cellular networks without the need for an additional SIM card.
The cellular connectivity is Qualcomm's traditional strength, and the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform greatly enhances the security of cellular connectivity. The Honor Magic4, powered by the new-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, intelligently identifies malicious base stations and ensures that user terminals are not connected to these networks and share data.
Coupled with the dual TEE security system composed of Honor's self-developed H-TEE and Qualcomm Q-TEE, in the mobile phone trusted execution environment, system kernel, data, applications, networking and other aspects, the user information security has been locked one more time.
An unprecedented 18-bit imaging ISP
Image capabilities are the key features of each generation of Honor flagship phones, this time honor Magic4 is equipped with a 50 million pixel 1/1.56-inch outliner sensor 7P lens main camera, as well as a 50 million pixel ultra-wide angle camera that supports super macro and 122° viewing angles, and finally an 8 million pixel 5x optical telephoto with OIS in the center of the camera. In addition, there are laser focus sensors and Flicker sensors to improve the focus experience and suppress photo strobes, which have reached the flagship level in terms of camera hardware.
The new Snapdragon 8 mobile platform has the ability to push smartphones to the era of professional mobile imaging, it is the first ISP in Qualcomm Spectra to support 18-bit information recording, and the first smartphone ISP to support 18-bit ISP. Capture up to 3.2 billion pixels per second, capturing image data up to 4,000 times the dynamic range of previous-generation platforms, recording the ultimate in dynamic range, color and clarity.
It is also the first mobile platform to support 8K HDR video shooting, and it is capable of shooting in the top HDR10+ format with more than 1 billion colors. The new bokeh engine adds a beautifully soft background to your video, as if portrait mode were turned on when the video was shot.
In addition to this surprising 18-bit ISP, the new Generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform also includes a fourth standalone ISP, a new low-power smart perception ISP that can allow the front camera to run at a very low power consumption for a long time, allowing users to enjoy the convenience of face unlocking at any time, and a high degree of privacy to always maintain the lock screen when no face is exposed. Moreover, the ISP's data is only running locally and will not lead to facial privacy leakage.
Honor Magic4 in the image system above the main is multi-main camera fusion computing photography, this generation is the industry's first 10bit 4K 60 frame Magic-Log video shooting, this high computing intensity imaging system, must be indispensable Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 powerful computing power support.
summary
The new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform is obviously in all aspects of the functional features, are more in line with the flagship positioning needs of honor Magic4. After all, a flagship mobile phone does not only look at the strength of processing performance, image capabilities, network connection performance (especially the stability of 5G networks), game fluency, data security and other aspects of the experience must have enough height, there is no obvious shortcomings, in order to be an excellent flagship mobile phone.
With the blessing of the Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, Honor Magic4 is worthy of being a well-rounded smart flagship product. With the expansion of flagship products equipped with the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform in the future, it is believed that there will be more and more flagship products such as Honor Magic4 that are excellent in all aspects.