Specs appeal: A look at the Snapdragon 7c, 8c, 8cx, and the 850

Today at Snapdragon Technology Summit, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 7c and the Snapdragon 8c. The two chipsets are for entry-level and for mainstream PCs, respectively, sitting below the premium Snapdragon 8cx in the lineup.

But what exactly are the new chipsets made out of? Qualcomm's details in the press release were somewhat sparse, only saying that the Snapdragon 8c is 30% faster than a Snapdragon 850 and that the Snapdragon 7c has a Kryo 468 CPU. But now, the spec sheets are live so we can take a closer look.

	Snapdragon 7c	Snapdragon 850	Snapdragon 8c	Snapdragon 8cx
CPU	2.4GHz Kryo 468, octa-core	2.96GHz Kryo 385, octa-core	2.45GHz Kryo 490, octa-core	2.84GHz Kryo 495, octa-core
GPU	Adreno 618	Adreno 630	Adreno 675	Adreno 680
Process	8nm	10nm	7nm
4G	Snapdragon X15	Snapdragon X20	Snapdragon X24
5G	No		Snapdragon X55
AI	4th Generation Qualcomm AI Engine
DSP	Hexagon 692	Hexagon 685, Qualcomm All-Ways Aware technology	Hexagon 690, Qualcomm All-Ways Aware technology
Bluetooth	5.1	5.0
USB	3.1
Memory	2133MHz LPDDR4	1866MHz LPDDR4x	2133MHz LPDDR4x
Storage	eMMC 5.1, UFS 3.0	UFS 2.1 Gear3 2L	NVMe SSD, UFS 3.0
Display	Maximum On-Device Display Support: FHD (2048x1536 @ 60 Hz) & QXGA (2048x1536 @ 60 Hz) Maximum External Display Support: QHD (2560x1440 @ 60 Hz)	Max On-Device Display: 4K Ultra HD Max External Display: 4K Ultra HD	Maximum On-Device Display Support: 4K Ultra HD Maximum External Display Support: Two 4K Displays
Camera	Spectra 255; 4K HDR capture at 30fps, dual 16MP, single 32MP	Spectra 280, 4K HDR capture at 30fps, dual 16MP, single 32MP	Spectra 390, 4K HDR capture at 30fps, dual 16MP, single 32MP
Audio	Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology, Qualcomm Aqstic smart speaker amplifier Qualcomm aptX audio technology: aptX Classic, aptX HD	Audio Technology: Qualcomm TrueWireless Technology, Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology, Qualcomm aptX audio technology Qualcomm aptX audio playback support: Qualcomm aptX, Qualcomm aptX HD	Audio Technology: Qualcomm TrueWireless Technology, Qualcomm Broadcast Audio technology, Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology, Qualcomm aptX audio technology Qualcomm aptX audio playback support: Qualcomm aptX, Qualcomm aptX HD

Putting the specs side-by-side show some interesting things. For one, there really isn't much of a difference between the Snapdragon 8c and the Snapdragon 8cx. The only difference is some changes in the CPU and the GPU; the rest of the feature set is pretty much the same.

Also, the 8c is meant to be the successor to the Snapdragon 850, and that's a pretty meaningful change. The 850 was actually based on the Snapdragon 845, which was made for smartphones. Now, we're seeing more PC-centric features light up, like support for real SSDs and multiple monitors.

The Snapdragon 7c is interesting just because it's meant to hit a price point of around $499. This is a big part of the PC market, and at that price, there really isn't anything that comes with 4G LTE, let alone anything that's thin and light. It's also interesting that it comes with support for Bluetooth 5.1, while none of the other chipsets do.

One other thing that's notable is that the Snapdragon 8c actually comes with support for all versions of Windows 10, meaning Home, Pro, and Enterprise, just like the 8cx.

Devices with the Snapdragon 7c and 8c won't be shipping until next year, but the Snapdragon platform should end up offering a pretty robust offering in the Windows 10 arena. The only thing Qualcomm needs now is to get partners on board to actually build the PCs.

Qualcomm sponsored the travel and accommodations for Neowin to attend Snapdragon Technology Summit.