Qualcomm Working on an M1 Competitor With Internal Number ‘Snapdragon SC8280’ and Support for up to 32GB RAM

Though Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 offers a few differences over its predecessor, it doesn’t hold a candle to Apple’s 5nm M1 chip. The San Diego chipmaker has even admitted that Apple’s latest silicon is an excellent sign that computing is headed in the right direction, but at the time, the company’s executive didn’t mention that Qualcomm was working on something that will rival the M1. Well, a new report dives deep into that, and here are all the details you should know.

Reference Machine Testing out the New Snapdragon Chip Features a 14-inch Display; Qualcomm’s New Silicon Could Fit in Highly Compact Notebooks

Though the new Snapdragon chip’s actual model name will be different, WinFuture mentions that it sports the internal number Snapdragon SC8280. Apparently, it’s being tested on a notebook with a 14-inch display, and the die size suggests that it may house more cores than the ones running in the Snapdragon 8cx. According to the report, the new Snapdragon SoC measures 20 x 17 millimeters in size, while the Snapdragon 8cx measured 20 x 17 millimeters.

It’s not clear if there will be changes to the dimensions once the actual commercial units are found in future notebooks, but we’ll keep you updated. What is clear is that the new silicon will likely be found in more compact machines. Since ARM-based chips don’t need sophisticated cooling to keep their temperatures in check, notebook manufacturers can keep their offerings lightweight and portable. It’s also possible that future laptops housing this Snapdragon chip support cellular connectivity.

The test machine features a Snapdragon X55 5G modem, but whether this modem is integrated with the chipset or kept separately on the motherboard is something we’ll find out in the future. There are also two variants being tested, according to the report. One features 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, while the other supports 32GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Apple’s M1 Macs are currently limited to 16GB of unified memory, so in terms of pure numbers, the Snapdragon SC8280 has an advantage.

However, Apple isn’t taking a backseat when it comes to developing more powerful ARM-based chips. According to a tipster, the next Apple Silicon will be a 12-core part. Looking at how the M1 easily beats more power-hungry chips while consuming less power and impressing in the GPU section, too, Qualcomm’s team should put development into overdrive and release the new Snapdragon chip as quickly as possible.

The post Qualcomm Working on an M1 Competitor With Internal Number ‘Snapdragon SC8280’ and Support for up to 32GB RAM by Omar Sohail appeared first on Wccftech.