Qualcomm

Qualcomm just announced its latest mobile platform that will power mid-range and even some flagship-caliber smartphones for the next year. Phones powered by the new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 are expected to arrive as early as this month. Qualcomm's press release specifically notes that Redmi and Realme are both expected to announce phones that use the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 this month. 

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Qualcomm is touting a long list of improvements to the 7+ Gen 2 chip, ranging from boosted CPU and GPU performance to a better camera experience -- particularly when it comes to low-light photography and 4K HDR videos -- mmWave, and Sub6 5G connectivity thanks to the Snapdragon X62 5G Modem, along with Wi-Fi 6E that's part of Qualcomm's FastConnect 6900 chip. 

According to Qualcomm, the 7+ Gen 2's CPU performance boost is an improvement of up to 50%, with an overall power efficiency gain of 13%; something that should lead to improved battery life. Speaking of battery life, the 7+ Gen 2 supports Quick Charge 5, which can charge from 0% to 50% in five minutes. 

Qualcomm

The 7+ Gen 2 brings support for two active SIMs to the platform, a first for this series of chips from Qualcomm. 

Gaming improvements include support for up to 120 frames-per-second on a QHD+ display, along with Qualcomm aptX gaming audio and in-game chat. 

Qualcomm also revealed some new AI improvements that are coming to the 7+ Gen 2. According to the chip maker, the new processor uses a "supercharged" Qualcomm AI Engine that's capable of handling tasks like upscaling video from 1080p to 4K, and improving zoom capabilities when recording videos while keeping the footage crisp and sharp. 

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Other camera-related improvements include support for camera modules of up to 200 megapixels. 

It's unclear when we'll see a smartphone in the US using Qualcomm's latest processor. I'd imagine we'll see Samsung use it in one of its A series Galaxy phones, like it did with the Galaxy A74.

Smartphones

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