The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 could be a great chip for budget phones

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 7 series of chipsets power a decent variety of mid-range smartphones. We’ve already seen the beastly Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 launched earlier this year, but we’ve now got a more modest chipset in the newly announced Snapdragon 7s Gen 2.

The name suggests that this could be a sequel of sorts to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, but a closer look at the spec sheet reveals that this chip is less capable in some ways. For example, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 offers peak downlink speeds of up to 2.9Gbps versus the Gen 1’s 4.4Gbps. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 also enjoys superior camera capabilities (e.g. better slow-motion video and higher-resolution camera support).

As for the key specs, Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is a 4nm chip powered by an octa-core CPU featuring four unnamed big cores at 2.4GHz and four unnamed little cores at 1.95GHz. We’re glad to see four big CPU cores here, though, as many mid-range SoCs still ship with only two big cores. We’ve also got an unspecified Adreno GPU on offer.

In terms of camera-related features, you’re getting 4K/30fps video, 4K HDR support, 120fps slow-motion at 1080p, and AI denoising functionality. Other notable features include support for a 144Hz refresh rate at FHD+ resolution, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E, and Quick Charge 4+ charging.

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 will power the Redmi Note 13 Pro, which launches in China later this month. We’ve asked Qualcomm for more info about the new chip and will update the article accordingly. We hope this processor lands in plenty of cheap phones, as it looks like a more budget-tier proposition than other Snapdragon 7 series chips.