If you were worried that the Snapdragon 8cx was too powerful, Qualcomm has announced two (mostly) cut-down models: the Snapdragon 8c and 7c:
Qualcomm Windows on Snapdragon: New 7c & 8c SoCs for sub-$800 Laptops
Last year Qualcomm introduced its flagship Snapdragon 8cx platform for premium always-connected PCs (ACPCs) that packed the best technologies that the company had to offer at the time. Being a no-compromise solution, the Snapdragon 8cx was not meant for every ACPC out there, so this week the company expanded the lineup of its SoCs for laptops with the Snapdragon 7c for entry-level machines and the Snapdragon 8c for mainstream always-connected notebooks.
Qualcomm aimed its Snapdragon 8cx primarily at flagship devices ACPCs and therefore maxed out its performance and capabilities, as well as offering the ability to add a 5G modem inside. To day the SoC has won only three designs: the Lenovo 5G laptop (which is yet to ship), the Microsoft Surface Pro X (which uses a semi-custom version called SQ1), and the Samsung Galaxy Book S — all of which are going to cost well over $1000.
In a bid to address more affordable machines, Qualcomm will roll-out its slightly cheaper Snapdragon 8c SoC that is the same silicon as the 8cx, but will feature a tad lower performance. The 7c by comparison is a new chip that will also have a smartphone counterpart, and is aimed at sub-$400 devices, according to analyst Patrick Moorehead. Qualcomm even stated that the 7c is going to target Chromebook equivalents, if not ChromeOS itself.
The 7c supports 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) while the other two chips support 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5).
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Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 8cx, an 'extreme' processor for Windows laptops
The "X" stands for "extreme." That's what Qualcomm's marketing department wants you to think about the new eight-core Snapdragon 8cx.
It's a brand-new processor for always-connected Windows laptops and 2-in-1 convertible PCs, and from Qualcomm's perspective, it might seem a little extreme. Physically, it's the largest processor the company has ever made, with the most powerful CPU and GPU Qualcomm has devised yet. Qualcomm says it'll be the first 7nm chip for a PC platform, beating a struggling Intel to the punch, and the biggest performance leap for a Snapdragon ever. The company's promising "amazing battery life," and up to 2Gbps cellular connectivity.
The TDP is 7 Watts, and the chip supports up to 16GB of LPDDR4x RAM.
Previously, a "Snapdragon 1000" for laptops was said to be in the works, but with a 12 Watt TDP.
See also: Firefox running on a Qualcomm 8cx-powered PC feels surprisingly decent
Previously: First ARM Snapdragon-Based Windows 10 S Systems Announced
Snapdragon 845 Announced
ARM Aims to Match Intel 15-Watt Laptop CPU Performance
Intel Reportedly "Petitioned Microsoft Heavily" to Use x86 Instead of ARM Chips in Surface Go
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 09 2019, @06:15AM
"If you were worried that the Snapdragon 8cx was too powerful"
I lost sleep over this.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 09 2019, @11:42AM (5 children)
mobile phone deviews are joke, really.
they boil down to:
oooohh! pretty!
it's abit rounder at the corners then the "old" model.
it's a got notch ... *rant*rant... blah blah.
so when they say it supports wifi VI ... well there will be NO review talking about reception, ever.
same with audio quality. granted it depends on signal strength and reception of the mobile network (on both ends) but mostly REAL technical stuff just falls under the table ... ah! also it's 0.2 mm thinner! *yawn*
unboxing youtube video is ... 12 minutes long, lol. where do people get all this time from?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday December 09 2019, @12:00PM
Wi-Fi 6 has a number of technical improvements [wikipedia.org] that will improve reception/range, not just deliver higher speeds 2 inches away from the router.
If some product performs like absolute trash, that will get figured out by others pretty quickly. Just don't buy at launch.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 09 2019, @12:03PM (3 children)
The planned obsolescence upgrade treadmill does carry real benefits: longer battery life, tougher screens, better cameras. I'm also genuinely excited for the time, five or ten years from now, when devices equivalent to the the 2020 Motorola Razr or Samsung Galaxy Fold cost $200 instead of $2000.
I agree, though, that reception is critical. Unfortunately even a thorough reception comparison has limited value to consumers. Unless I live right where they conducted the tests, their results don't mean anything to me.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday December 09 2019, @12:45PM
The smartphone market is saturated and there is a decent amount of competition, although Huawei and friends being locked out of the U.S. reduces competition there.
I'd be optimistic about flexible phones prices. Galaxy Fold was an expensive beta test. Galaxy Fold 2 is rumored to target $800-$1000 [bgr.com], in line with other high-end flagships.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Redundant) by takyon on Monday December 09 2019, @12:45PM
The smartphone market is saturated and there is a decent amount of competition, although Huawei and friends being locked out of the U.S. reduces competition there.
I'd be optimistic about flexible phones prices. Galaxy Fold was an expensive beta test. Galaxy Fold 2 is rumored to target $800-$1000 [bgr.com], in line with other high-end flagships.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday December 09 2019, @12:49PM
That was a disaster. Continuing:
Flexible phones should be more resilient. A lot of people drop their phones, break the shit, and get a new one. If the industry trends towards flexible and water resistant (no ports [theverge.com]), then along with the slower rate of feature improvement, people will (try to) use their phones for longer.
The industry should drop water resistance and bring back the headphone jack so more phones get destroyed (lol).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 09 2019, @08:25PM
MS forces manufacturers to not allow "secureboot" to be disabled on ARM platform machines to receive windows certification.
So, unless your distribution is getting its kernels/bootloader signed by MS (which is pretty problematic, in itself), these are worthless bricks.
There should be a law...