Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC could launch earlier than expected

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
(Image credit: Qualcomm)

What you need to know

  • Qualcomm appears to have accidentally revealed the date for this year's Snapdragon Tech Summit.
  • The event is scheduled for November, but it has since been removed from Qualcomm's website.
  • If the leaked date is correct, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC will be unveiled earlier than usual.

Qualcomm usually announces the date of its annual Snapdragon Tech Summit in the months leading up to the event. However, the San Diego-based semiconductor giant may have slipped up and accidentally leaked that information at the wrong time.

According to an event page on its website, Qualcomm will hold this year's Tech Summit from November 14 to November 17. The schedule was later removed from the website, but not before GSMArena was able to take a screenshot of it.

If the date holds true, this means Qualcomm is set to announce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 earlier than usual. The company traditionally unveils its flagship chipsets, which power many of the best Android phones, near the end of each year. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, for example, was introduced on November 30 of last year. The previous chipsets were also announced in the first week of December of their respective years.

As for the processor's specs, there isn't much in the way of information at this moment. However, a recent rumor suggested that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will use a unique layout. A Weibo post from Digital Chat Station claimed that TSMC would manufacture the chipset using the 4nm process.

Where things start to get exciting is its complex design. According to the rumor, the next-gen processor will have one Cortex-X3, two Cortex-A720, two Cortex-A710, and three Cortex-A510 cores. This is vastly different from the current 1+3+4 configuration, comprising a single Cortex-X2, three Cortex-A710, and four Cortex-A510 cores.

It is currently unknown which smartphone brands will use the upcoming chipset for their future models. Xiaomi and OPPO were among the first companies to use Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, so it won't be too surprising if the same Chinese phone makers will also beat the others to the punch with this year's iteration.

Jay Bonggolto
News Writer & Reviewer

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech and apps for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via Twitter or LinkedIn.