[Exclusive] Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ Processor To Be Announced In Early May 2022

Qualcomm has had an eventful year. It ditched the Snapdragon 8XX naming scheme for its flagship processor lineup, starting with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 branding. However, this didn’t help the company solve the overheating and throttling issues that plagued the Snapdragon 888, as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 had the same problems at a bigger scale. Later this year, though, the company could leave behind its throttling woes.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ Launch To Happen In May 2022

We heard from tipster Yogesh Brar that Qualcomm will announce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ (model number SM8475) in early May 2022. The upcoming high-end chipset will be based on the TSMC’s 4nm semiconductor fabrication process, which has been tested to be more efficient than Samsung Foundry’s 4nm process.

Qualcomm is planning to shift their flagship SoC orders to TSMC as the Taiwanese firm’s 4nm fabrication process offers more yield and stable chips, and SM8475 will be the first Qualcomm chip based on TSMC’s 4nm node.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ Will Be Featured In High-End Smartphones From Lenovo, Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi

Smartphone OEMs have already got their hands on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+, along with upcoming chipsets from the Snapdragon 700 series that will make their debut around the same time. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ will be seen on flagship models, starting as early as June 2022. The list of first-phase customers includes Lenovo, Motorola, OnePlus, and Xiaomi.

The recent speed up in the launch cycle of the new chips can be attributed to several factors, ranging from performance issues to low yields and the heat that Qualcomm is facing from MediaTek. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000, Dimensity 8100, and Dimensity 8000 chips have all shown impressive performance gains, and they cost lower than what Qualcomm is charging for its solutions. Qualcomm understands this and is actively working on minimizing its losses.