Earlier rumors suggested that the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 would use a combination of cores not previously seen on any Qualcomm SoC, and for the most part, that was correct. However, the update to that information is that the 1+2+2+3 configuration has been changed to 1+4+3, and the flagship chipset is rumored to use four high-performance Gold (Gold) cores to get ahead of the competition.
The four Gold CPU cores belong to ARM’s Cortex-A715 architecture, which brings a slight performance boost and efficiency improvement compared to the Cortex-A710.
According to Kuba Wojciechowski, Snapdragon 8 Gen2 will no longer be a combination of two Cortex-A710 and two Cortex-A715 cores, but will instead feature four Cortex-A715 cores. The updated configuration will be as follows.
One Cortex-X3 core
Four Cortex-A715 cores
Three Cortex-A510 cores
Wojciechowski believes that Qualcomm will switch to these four “Gold” CPU cores to gain a performance lead over its competitors, naturally referring to rival MediaTek’s unreleased Dimensity 9200. However, due to the Dimensity 9200’s earlier 1+3+4 CPU configuration, the Snapdragon 8 Gen2 may achieve a lead in the multi-core tests.
However, performance numbers mean little when it comes to power efficiency, and since the Snapdragon 8 Gen2 will be found in devices that customers carry with them rather than plugged in all day, it will be interesting to see how this change in CPU core mix will alter battery life performance. Thankfully, Qualcomm’s upcoming SoC is said to be built on TSMC’s 4nm architecture, and according to earlier rumors, it will offer a 20 percent performance boost over the Snapdragon 8 Plus first generation, and energy efficiency shouldn’t be too far off.
With Qualcomm officially announcing the date of its annual Snapdragon Summit, we’ll soon see what the company has in store for us.
