Back in December 2021, Qualcomm surprised many with the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 processor, a new type of chip aimed at powering Android-based gaming handheld devices. Unfortunately, it didn’t really take off, with Razer being the only notable manufacturer to use it in the Razer Edge 5G. That isn’t stopping Qualcomm from trying again though, with not one, not two but three new mobile platforms built for handheld gaming on the go.
Dubbed the Snapdragon G series, Qualcomm is building on its previous gaming handheld processor with a new tiered lineup of processors, similar to how its mobile platforms start from Snapdragon 4 and goes up to the Snapdragon 8 series.
First up is the Snapdragon G1 family, aimed at fanless handheld gaming devices that can either play light titles locally or streaming through the cloud. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon G1 chips focus on battery life and lag-free connectivity in particular for longer cloud gaming sessions. The first member of the Snapdragon G1 lineup is the Snapdragon G1 Gen 1, featuring an 8-core Kryo CPU and an Adreno A11 GPU capable of up to 1080p playback at 60FPS, as well as support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5 wireless connectivity.
Moving up the product stack is the Snapdragon G2 lineup, which was designed for more full-featured mobile and cloud gaming. Here, you’ll find the Snapdragon G2 Gen 1 processor under the hood powered by an 8-core Kryo CPU and a more powerful Adreno A21 GPU that’s capable of FHD+ playback at up to a 144Hz refresh rate. It also packs improved wireless connectivity with its Qualcomm FastConnect 6700 modem allowing for 5G, WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5 support.
At the very top of the Snapdragon G series though is the Snapdragon G3 series, a flagship tier product built for enthusiast gaming features and performance. It features the successor to the original gaming handheld chip Qualcomm made with the Snapdragon G3x Gen 2, packing an 8-core Kryo GPU and the new Adreno A32 GPU that supports FHD+ displays with up to 144Hz refresh rates and ray tracing capabilities. It’s also the most impressive processor here in terms of connectivity, with 5G, WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 support, along with support for low latency Bluetooth audio with Snapdragon Sound.
Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 handheld gaming reference design is already available and is being sampled by select OEMs and ODMs such as AyaNeo.
