The influx of newly-introduced portable gaming handhelds has certainly seen a rise over the past couple of years, thanks to devices like the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, and more recently the Sony PlayStation Portal. While devices like the Logitech G Handheld and the Razer handheld are primarily designed for cloud-based game streaming, it stands to reason that more powerful portables will need something with a bit more “oomph” in order to run your favourite PC games on the go.
Enter Qualcomm’s new array of “Snapdragon G” chipsets – announced earlier today, the Snapdragon G series SoCs go beyond smartphones, and are specially designed to accommodate resource-hungry hardware and software, as well as stream-centric devices. Mithun Chandrasekhar, Senior Director of Product Management over at Qualcomm states:
“Dedicated handheld gaming devices are the best way to experience mobile games. But gamers want to be able to play all their favorite games across devices and ecosystems, be it their console, PC, or on a cloud service… The new generation of Snapdragon G Series powered devices will be the best place for gamers to play their favorite titles, offering them the ability to choose from the cloud, console, Android, or PC while on-the-go.”
What exactly does Qualcomm offer with these new products though? Let’s find out.
Snapdragon G1
First up we have the Qualcomm Snapdragon G1, which Qualcomm says is specially-designed to power fan-less handheld gaming devices for game streaming, whether local or via the cloud (think something like the Logitech G Handheld). The company adds that the Snapdragon G1 is focused on giving gamers a generally lag-free experience with connectivity, as well as capable battery performance for longer streaming sessions. The first member of the Snapdragon G1 family is the Snapdragon G1 Gen 1 Platform, which packs an 8-core Qualcomm Kryo CPU, alongside a Qualcomm Adreno A11 GPU.
Snapdragon G2
Up next we have the Snapdragon G2, which comes with added support for mobile and cloud gaming, thanks to built-in support for 5G and Wi-Fi 6/6E from Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6700 Mobile Connectivity System. The first product in this series is the Snapdragon G2 Gen 1 Platform, which according to Qualcomm can deliver premium mobile and cloud gaming titles anywhere at anytime. Similar to the Snapdragon G1 Gen 1, it also features an 8-core Kryo CPU, Adreno A21 GPU, and the Snapdragon X62 5G Modem-RF System.
Snapdragon G3
Last but not the least on here is the Snapdragon G3, Qualcomm’s flagship tier chip which is designed towards enthusiast features and performance. The company says that the G3 “harnesses the very best of Qualcomm Technologies’ innovative gaming capabilities,” and builds off the feedback from the Razer Edge 5G, which itself is powered by the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1.
As such, the Snapdragon G3 series includes the Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 Platform, which is the newest product in the G3 range. The Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 Platform features an 8-core Kryo CPU, which is aided by an Adreno A32 GPU for 30% faster CPU performance, as well as up to 2x faster GPU performance compared to its predecessor 1. The G3x Gen 2 also features multi-generational performance improvements, which includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing for improved visuals, game super resolution, XR glass tethering, low-latency premium Bluetooth audio (with Snapdragon Sound), as well as wireless speeds via Wi-Fi 7 High-Band Simultaneous (HBS) as well as 5G sub-6 and mmWave.
Availability
With regards to hardware, we can expect to see the new Snapdragon gaming chips on select products from manufacturers including AyaNeo, Huaqin, Inventec, Thundercomm, and a number of other companies, which are currently working with Qualcomm to develop hardware powered by the newly-announced chipsets.
