Qualcomm has announced its newest offering that’s set to power the next wave of PCs with improved AI performance and efficiency. The third-generation Snapdragon 8cx and 7c+ expands the company’s portfolio with the 8cx Gen 3 being the world’s first 5nm PC platform. With it, the company is able to dramatically improve its Kryo CPU without increasing power consumption leading to more powerful, longer-lasting machines.
According to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 offers up to 85% performance increase compared to its predecessor. For more intensive processes like photo and video editing, the improved Adreno GPU is able to provide support. Additionally, the platform supports full HD gaming up to 120 FPS. It’s even powerful enough to handle 3D modeling and CAD design. It’s also able to work with virtual monitors when connected to AR glasses.
With video calls now a large part of most people’s lives, Qualcomm has also improvements in this sector. With its new chip, the company offers Qualcomm Spectra ISP that improves camera start-up time up to 15% faster.
Users will be able to set up faster with better autofocus, auto white balance, and auto exposure. For audio, there’s Qualcomm Noise and Echo cancellation technology onboard as part of the Qualcomm Voice Suite. This feature uses AU acceleration to enhance audio clarity and quality while minimizing background noises for distraction-free calls or meetings.
PCs equipped with Qualcomm’s latest will also be able to utilize up to 4 cameras and up to 4K HDR camera quality.
In the field of AI, everyday features that users have learned to rely on, like face detection or background blurring, have also been updated. Boasting 29+ TOPS of AI acceleration, the 8cx Gen 3 offers three times more than the leading competitive platform.
We tried a demo that showcases the platform’s ability to automatically track faces and ensure that subjects are always in focus.
We also saw a demo where a PC is able to automatically sleep and wake up – the PC is able to detect a human presence using a low-power always-on sensor. This auto sleep and wakeup is clearly the next step in the evolution of the PC, but this new feature will likely worry privacy advocates.
Users will also benefit from a more advanced security setup. The 8cx Gen 3 features layered chipset-level Secure Boot processes and can enable Microsoft Secured-core PCs out of the box. For enterprise customers, the company offers Qualcomm secure Processing Unit that implements Microsoft Pluton TPM for Windows 11 to help secure store data.
Windows Hello combined with a dedicated Computer Vision processor allows devices to automatically lock when users are detected leaving their machine.
With support for Snapdragon X55, X62, and X65 5G Modern-RF systems, the 8cx Gen 3 can power machines that can reach up to 10Gbps. It also features Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 for faster Wi-Fi 6/6E performance.
Being Always On and Always Connected, users will also be able to instantly resume their work at a push of a button with almost no lag time.
The Snapdragon 7C+ Gen 3, on the other hand, is designed to power entry-level devices. Offering 60% faster CPU performance and 70% faster GPU performance, the platform is also equipped to handle Chromebooks alongside PCs.
Offering 6.5 TOPS of performance, the Qualcomm AI engine is able to offer AI-accelerated experiences as well.
For the first time in an entry-level platform, 5G is now available thanks to the 7c+ Gen 3. Offering a Snapdragon X53 Modem RF system, devices will be able to reach up to 3.7Gbps download speeds. Wi-Fi 6/6E connectivity is also improved through FastConnect 6700 and can reach top speeds of up to 2.9Gbps.
Devices to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest are expected to arrive by next year.