Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 processors have proven very popular lately, offering a range of cheaper 5G smartphones through 2020. Examples of this are the popular Google Pixel 5 and OnePlus Nord, both of which contain the Snapdragon 765G. Then there’s the newer Samsung Galaxy A52 5G with Snapdragon 750G, which has everything you need for a solid smartphone experience.
Today Qualcomm unveiled its latest high-end processor in each growing 7-series: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 780G 5G. This chipset is intended to power mid-range smartphones that will hit the market in the second quarter of 2021.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 780G: Approaching Flagship-Level Performance
Qualcomm’s 7-series has set itself the goal of offering the functions of the 8-series quickly at lower prices. The Snapdragon 780G sits right on the cutting edge.
It is based on a 5nm manufacturing process that matches Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset. Also in this generation there is a much more powerful Kryo 670 CPU setup consisting of four of the latest large Arm Cortex-A78 CPU cores and four small Cortex-A55 cores. There is no powerful Arm Cortex-X1 core here. that remains reserved for flagship smartphones.
Even so, switching to four large cores should give the 780G a lot more bite than the 765G and 750G for high-performance applications. Qualcomm offers a 40% increase in CPU performance over previous generation 7 series chipsets. Snapdragon 780G-enabled handsets can also be paired with up to 16 GB of fast LPDDR4 memory, which can achieve clock rates of up to 2.1 GHz.
Continue reading: Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G: More Choices for Affordable 5G
The Adreno 642 graphics processor also appears to be another major improvement. Qualcomm didn’t give us specific performance metrics, but the Adreno naming scheme suggests a performance that should fall somewhere around the 2019 flagship Snapdragon 855 processor. With support for 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit gaming, and upgradeable GPU drivers, this could turn out to be a solid gaming package.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 780G specifications
| Snapdragon 780G | Snapdragon 765 / 765G | Snapdragon 750G | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central processor | Cryo 670 octa core 1x Prime at 2.4 GHz (Cortex-A78) 3x performance at 2.2 GHz (Cortex-A78) 4x efficiency at 1.9 GHz (Cortex-A55) | Kryo 475 octa core 1x Prime at 2.3 GHz (Cortex-A76) 1x performance at 2.2 GHz (Cortex-A76) 6x efficiency at 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A55) | Kryo 570 octa core 2x performance at 2.2 GHz (Cortex-A77) 6x efficiency at 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A55) |
| GPU | Adreno 642 | Adreno 620 | Adreno 619 |
| DSP | Hexagon 770 with tensor accelerator | Hexagon 696 with tensor accelerator | Hexagon 694 with tensor accelerator |
| camera | 84MP single camera 64 + 20MP dual camera 25 + 25 + 25MP triple camera No shutter lag, 10-bit HEIF, staggered HDR, MFNR 192MP snapshot | 36MP single camera 22MP dual camera with no shutter lag 192MP snapshot | 36MP single camera 16MP dual camera with no shutter lag 192MP snapshot |
| modem | Snapdragon X53 5G / LTE 5G: 3,300 Mbit / s down | Snapdragon X52 5G / LTE 5G: 3,700 Mbit / s down, 1,600 Mbit / s up 4G: 1,200 Mbit / s down, 210 Mbit / s up | Snapdragon X52 5G / LTE 5G: 3,700 Mbit / s down, 1,600 Mbit / s up 4G: 1,200 Mbit / s down, 210 Mbit / s up |
| Other wireless | Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6E Qualcomm aptX suite Bluetooth LE audio | Bluetooth 5.0 Wi-Fi 6 ready Qualcomm TrueWireless and aptX Adaptive Audio | Bluetooth 5.1 Wi-Fi 6 ready Qualcomm TrueWireless and aptX Adaptive Audio |
| Fast charge | Fast charge 4 plus | Fast charge 4 plus Fast charge AI | Fast charge 4 plus |
| production method | 5nm | 7nm | 8nm |
More than just higher performance
In addition to significant general and performance improvements in games, the Snapdragon 780 integrates more powerful functions for AI, image processing and network.
Qualcomm has doubled AI processing power with its latest Hexagon 770 DSP and achieved 12 TOPS of processing power. That’s not far from the 15 TOPS capability of the 2020 Snapdragon 865 flagship processor.
Of course, camera functions are of great importance in modern mid-range and flagship smartphones. The Spectra 570 of the Snapdragon 780G has three 14-bit ISPs with 2.5 Gbps capabilities for image processing. The phone can take pictures and videos from three 25-megapixel cameras at the same time. It also supports 4K HDR video recording with real-time bokeh. What is impressive is that this comes very close to the image processing capabilities of the Snapdragon 888.
See also: What powers the Snapdragon 865 camera? Two gigapixels.
Just like previous entries in the 7 series, the Snapdragon 780G has 5G support. The Snapdragon X53 datasheet doesn’t mention mmWave compatibility, and mmWave wasn’t implemented in many mid-range phones of 2020 anyway. However, from what we know about Qualcomm’s 5G chipsets, the Snapdragon X53 modem works with Qualcomm’s mmWave antenna modules, so cell phone manufacturers can leverage mmWave 5G support in markets where there is a need. The maximum download speed is 3.3 Gbit / s on 5 G connections below 6 GHz.
The Snapdragon 780G offers Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E with 6 GHz spectrum via the FastConnect 6900 chipset. There’s also Bluetooth 5.2 with LE audio, the latest aptX audio technologies, and Snapdragon sound.
What to Expect from the Snapdragon 780G 5G
The upper end of the Qualcomm chipset portfolio looks quite interesting in 2021. The Snapdragon 888 stays firmly at the top, followed by the 870, which is essentially a pimped-up version of the previous generation 865 Plus. The 780G is then just below that, although it doesn’t lag far behind that chipset in many ways and actually scores a few design wins.
The 780G is an important step in mid-range performance as it is based on a 5nm manufacturing process with four high-performance Cortex-A78 cores and a powerful Adreno 642 GPU. The chip should bring the performance of the 7-series much closer to premium products this year. Qualcomm supports all of this with state-of-the-art connectivity, machine learning and image processing capabilities. Qualcomm doesn’t seem to be expecting much from the launch of mmWave 5G with this chipset, which could be a little disappointing for some markets. Although in reality, most consumers probably wouldn’t notice it anyway.
On paper, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 780G 5G looks like solid hardware that is really ambitious for a 7-series chipset. And that’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for. We’ll have to see how all of these technologies affect product prices, but we should find out soon when the first smartphones arrive in the next few months.