Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Offers Slight Performance Upgrade Over Its Predecessor

Qualcomm has unwrapped the new Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor which is designed for Windows and Chrome OS systems. The new system-on-chip (SoC) is the successor to the original Snapdragon 7c that was announced at the end of 2019.

However, the new SoC still carries plenty of features from the original Snapdragon 7c. In fact, the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is not exactly an all-new release but is deemed more as a generational update or in other words, a refresh.

Based on their specs sheet, the only noticeable difference that we can easily spot between these two processors is the fact that the Kyro 468 octa-core CPU within the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is slightly faster at up to 2.55GHz. As a comparison, the original Snapdragon 7c which features a similar CPU maxed out at 2.4GHz which means we are looking at around six per cent of improvements in terms of CPU performance.

Among the features that were carried over from the original Snapdragon 7c includes Spectra 255 ISP with 14-bit image signal processing, Hexagon 692 DSP, and 5th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine. Also equipped with Snapdragon X15 LTE modem, the Gen 2 release continues to support LPDDR4x-2133 RAM as well as Aqstic and aptX HD codecs.

Despite not carrying significant upgrades, Qualcomm claims that the new SoC is still able to overcome other chips from competitors such as Intel and MediaTek:

The role of the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 remains the same as per its predecessor which is to serve the entry-level market. Qualcomm is also pitching the SoC to the education sector as well as for machines that are meant for first-line workers and lightweight users.

In terms of availability, you can expect products powered by Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 to appear in the market in the next few months. However, only time will tell if there are any OEMs committed enough to release such products in our market, although it is possible that Qualcomm’s partner in Ipoh, SNS Network may have some plans for the new SoC.