Qualcomm is looking ahead to what comes next, as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 will meet the requirement for a strong chipset through the end of the year. According to leakster Digital Chat Station, the next step is a fairly uncommon 1+2+2+3 CPU arrangement.
One Cortex-X3, two Cortex-A720, two A710, and three A510 cores are rumoured to be included in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU. 1x Makalu-Elp, 2x Makalu, 2x Matterhorn, and 3x Klein-R1 are their code names.
The names Makalu and Matterhorn should be recognisable if you've been following ARM's announcement. These were touted as the Cortex-X1/A78 generation's successors. The X2/A710 step on the chart is definitely Matterhorn, whereas Makalu is the following generation.
When compared to the X1/A78 cores, the Cortex-X3 and A720 promise a 30 percent increase in peak CPU performance and a smaller jump from the current Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. This is most likely for performance at the same clock rates.
According to DCS, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (SM8550, code name Kailua ES) will be manufactured on TSMC's N4 node. We can't expect significant clock speed enhancements because the 8+ Gen 1 is built on the same 4nm technology.
This will most likely be the first mobile chipset with four CPU cores (the current chipsets use three kinds). But if that means delivering next-gen performance, then so be it.
Anyway, the Adreno 740 GPU is claimed to be used in the Gen 2 flagship processor, which regrettably doesn't tell us anything. The architecture will be the same as the 730 in current chips, but any performance gains will have to wait for future leaks.
Qualcomm usually reveals its next-generation flagship chipset at the end of the year with a major in-person event in Hawaii (which explains all the Hawaii-themed code names).
