Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, 6 Gen 1 announced: Premium features trickle down

Qualcomm announced a new naming convention for its chipsets, starting with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 late last year and continuing with the upper mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 earlier this year. Now, the US chip designer is moving downstream, revealing the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1.

The new chipsets replace the Snapdragon 400 and Snapdragon 600 naming convention respectively, and they also bring a few handy features in their respective tiers. Here’s what you should know about them,

Snapdragon 6 Gen 1

The 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is obviously the more capable chipset of the lot, bringing a capable octa-core CPU (4x Cortex-A78 and 4x Cortex-A55) with a claimed 40% performance boost over the admittedly underpowered Snapdragon 695. Meanwhile, the SoC also ships with an Adreno GPU that promises 35% better performance, as well as gaming-focused features like variable rate shading and jank reduction.

Qualcomm’s new SoC also brings an improved AI engine with a Hexagon Tensor Accelerator and a claimed 3x increase to AI performance, as well as a Snapdragon X62 5G modem.

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 also brings a pretty capable suite of camera capabilities, offering up to 108MP single-camera support (presumably snapshot), 25MP+16MP dual camera support, and 13MP triple camera capabilities. You can also expect 4K HDR video recording, which is an improvement over the Snapdragon 695 and its lack of 4K video recording at all.

Other notable specs include Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E, Quick Charge 4+ support, and 120Hz at FHD+ display resolutions.

You’re in for a bit of a wait if you want a phone with this chipset, as Qualcomm says devices with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 are set to launch in Q1 2023. Motorola has also confirmed that it will offer a phone with the new SoC.

Snapdragon 4 Gen 1

Qualcomm also announced the 6nm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, slotting in below the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1. The new lower mid-range SoC serves up an octa-core CPU (2x Cortex-A78 and 6x Cortex-A55), with a touted 15% improvement over the Snapdragon 695. Meanwhile, the GPU sees a claimed 10% performance boost.

Otherwise, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 seems to share a lot in common with the Snapdragon 695. There’s a Snapdragon X51 5G modem topping out at 2.5Gbps downlink speeds, similar camera capabilities (including 108MP snapshot support and no 4K video recording), 120Hz support at FHD+ resolutions, Quick Charge 4+ support, Bluetooth 5.2, and Wi-Fi 5.

You won’t have to wait long to see the first phones with the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, as Qualcomm confirmed that the first devices will land this quarter (Q3 2022). Vivo’s Iqoo brand has revealed that the Iqoo Z6 Lite will be one of the first globally available phones with the new chipset.