At the annual Qualcomm 5G Summit a brand new mobile processor aimed at high-tier devices has been unveiled. The new Snapdragon 778G 5G Mobile Platform, aims to deliver "cutting-edge mobile gaming and accelerated artificial intelligence (AI) to enable stunning photo and video experiences," and Qualcomm has already confirmed it will feature in upcoming 5G connected designs from the likes of Motorola, Oppo, and Xiaomi.
This new Snapdragon has been produced to satisfy the gap which existed between the current SD700 and 800 series mobile processors, so we are of course looking at a bridging product, delivering more flagship-style benefits to those with constricted budgets. Qualcomm puts its proposition into these words -"Snapdragon 778G was developed to address the growing demand by global OEMs for more platform options in the high-tier," said Kedar Kondap, VP of product management at Qualcomm. "Snapdragon 778G brings many of the latest premium technologies and features into the high-tier to help make next generation experiences more broadly accessible."
One of the major improvements delivered to the SD778G is in gaming, with this processor delivering select Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features to upcoming high-tier devices. This includes; Variable Rate Shading (VRS), and Qualcomm Game Quick Touch – both of which were previous SD800 series exclusives. PC gamers probably need no explanation of the benefits of VRS, enabled here by the Adreno 642L GPU and said to help speed up supported titles by 20 per cent, but it is worth mentioning that Qualcomm Game Quick Touch enhances touch input responsiveness – users should expect a 20 per cent touch latency reduction. Screens of up to FHD+ and 144Hz are supported.
In addition to the custom gaming tech mentioned above, the SD778G features powerful components built using 6nm technology. Qualcomm says that the Kryo 670 generates up to 40 per cent uplift in overall CPU performance and the Adreno 642L GPU is designed to deliver up to 40 per cent faster graphics compared to the previous gen. Up to 16GB of 3,200MHz LP-DDR5 is supported. These advances speed up all your smart device's on board processing – not just your games.
The latest 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine and the Qualcomm Hexagon 770 processor work in tandem in this SoC to deliver up to 12 TOPs and 2X performance compared to its predecessor – and improve performance per watt.
Other headline benefits of the new SD778G include the Triple ISP camera system – which allows for the capturing of three photos/videos simultaneously including wide, ultra-wide, and zoom. 4K HDR10+ video capture in 10 bit colour is supported too, as it computational HDR using staggered HDR sensors where available. Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound technology suite provides audio features and system level optimisations for a refined audio recording/listening experience.
From its full name, the Snapdragon 778G 5G Mobile Platform, it is clear there is 5G support provided here. Specifically, Qualcomm has integrated a Snapdragon X53 5G Modem-RF System to help deliver mmWave and sub-6 5G capabilities. Wi-Fi 6 with speeds up to 2.9Gbps is supported with 4k QAM and access to 160MHz channels in both the 5GHz and 6GHz bands. Bluetooth 5.2 is present too.
At the Qualcomm 5G Summit the new Snapdragon X65 and X62 5G modem-RF designs, extending 5G support to a wide range of M.2 devices (including PC desktops/laptops), were also announced.
