Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 7C in December 2019 as a mid-range chipset for Windows on Arm devices and Chromebooks. Now the American chip designer has announced the Snapdragon 7C Gen 2, which is aimed at entry-level arm PCs and Chromebooks. But those expecting major upgrades might be disappointed.
Much like the flagship Snapdragon 8CX Gen 2 chipset was basically the same as the original 8CX, the Snapdragon 7C Gen 2 is virtually identical to the original processor. That means you have an 8nm design with an octa-core Kryo 468 CPU (two Cortex-A76 cores at 2.55 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz) and an Adreno 618 -GPU.
Qualcomm compared the new processor in benchmarks with the chipsets Intel Celeron N4020, Pentium Silver N5030 and MediaTek MT8183, whereby the new chipset was ahead. We should take this with a pinch of salt as we’d rather wait for independent testing. But it is also worth mentioning that the MT8183 in particular came on the market at the end of 2019 and was replaced by the MT8192.
Otherwise, the Snapdragon 7C Gen 2 also has an X15 modem for LTE connectivity (up to 600 Mbit / s), a Spectra 255 image signal processor and a Hexagon 692 digital signal processor. Other notable features include a maximum screen resolution of QHD or 2048 x 1536 @ 60 Hz, Qualcomm Aqstic audio support, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 5.
A Snapdragon PC in a small form factor
Qualcomm also had some welcome developer news when it released the Snapdragon Developer Kit for Windows. The Developer Kit offers a NUC form factor that is reminiscent of a larger Mac Mini and was developed in collaboration with Microsoft.
There’s no word on SoC, RAM, and storage, but a side view shows at least one full-sized USB port, one SD card slot, and another card-sized slot. We’ll probably have more I / O options on the back (aside from the expected HDMI out).
The company did not disclose a price or a specific launch date for the Snapdragon Developer Kit, but said it was “affordable” and would launch through the Microsoft Store in the summer of 2021.