Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, Launch, Specifications, Availability
Qualcomm, one of the key SoC makers in the market has unveiled the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset. This new 5G silicon becomes the first 4 Gen series silicon to be fabbed under 4nm architecture. More about Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 in this article.
Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Overview:
4nm Process and X61 5G Modem
Codenamed SM4450, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 is the successor to the 4 Gen 1 that was launched last September. As aforementioned, the chip uses 4nm nodes but Qualcomm hasn’t mentioned the foundry. So, it might be either TSMC or Samsung.
The CPU is still Kryo with 64-bit architecture and consists of two performance cores at 2.2GHz and six efficiency cores at 2GHz. While the company has kept the GPU info hidden as of now.
Besides that, this midrange SoC is the first in the series to support the 3GPP Release 16 version of 5G via the X61 5G Modem with 4×4 MIMIO. This version expands the 5G NR frequency spectrum with bands starting from under 1 GHz and going all the way up to 43 GHz. As a result, the 4 Gen 2 will offer you better bandwidth speed— 2.5Gbps download and 900Mbps upload speed.
Dual ISP
Well, the 4 Gen 2 brings a slight downgrade on the ISP section, toning down to dual ISP support from the triple one on the previous gen SoC. However, it retains the 108MP camera support and adds Zero Shutter Lag support for up to 32MP or 16MP + 16MP dual cameras. And the video is still capped at 1080p 60ps but with EIS support this time. Plus, you get Multi-Camera Temporal Filtering (MCTF) for reducing noise in videos.
Faster UFS 3.1 and LDDR5 RAM
What’s even more significant upgrade is the support for UFS 3.1 and LDDR5x (3200MHz) RAM on this new chip. For reference, the 4 Gen 1 only supported LPDDR4x RAM at 2,133MHz and UFS 2.2 storage. Meanwhile, what’s not changed is the USB 3.2 Gen 1, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5.1 (aptX). So, no WiFi 6 support for phones using this silicon.
Others
Moving on, the 4 Gen 2 carries the Quick Charge 4+ support as its predecessor. It can fill up the battery from 0-15% in 15 minutes as per Qualcomm. Besides this, the SoC supports FullHD+ res displays at 120Hz and 120fps for supported games and AI-enhanced noise cancellation.
4 Gen 2 vs 4 Gen 1 Comparision
| Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 | Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 | |
| Architecture | 4nm | 6nm (TSMC) |
| Performance/ big cores | 4x Cortex-A78 (@2.2GHz) | 2x Cortex-A78 (@2.0GHz) |
| Efficiency/ little cores | 4x Cortex-A55 (@1.8GHz) | 6x Cortex-A55 (@1.7GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno (Unspecified) | Adreno 619 |
| Memory | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Image Signal Processing | (Dual, up to 108MP, Zero Shutter Lag on up to 32MP camera) | (Triple, up to 108MP) |
| Integrated Modem | Snapdragon X61 (Rel. 16, 2.5Gpbs down, 900Mbps up) | Snapdragon X51 (2.5Gpbs down, 800Mbps up) |
| Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Subsystem | FastConnect 6100 (Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1) | FastConnect 6100 (Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1) |
| Fast Charging | Quick Charge 4+ | Quick Charge 4+ |
Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Availability
The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 will become available in lower midrange phones in Q2 of 2023. Redmi and Vivo might be the first ones to pack this SoC.
- Meanwhile, you can check our Redmi Note 12 5G Review.
