Qualcomm Launches Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 For Robust, Power-Efficient Chromebooks And Windows Laptops

Back in September 2020, Qualcomm debuted the flagship Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G Compute Platform for Windows 10 on Arm devices. This was a slight refresh of its predecessor, with the major update being the addition of a standalone Snapdragon X55 5G modem. Today, however, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 to steps into the limelight, and it features new optimizations compared to its low power predecessor as well.

The Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 has been tweaked for increased performance and efficiency over the first-generation chip, although the differences are more subtle. While Kryo 468 CPU in the original Snapdragon 7c is clocked at up to 2.4GHz, the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 boosts the maximum clock to 2.55GHz. Qualcomm hasn't provided specific figures on the actual real-world (or synthetic) performance uplift compared to the first gen Snapdragon 7c Compute Platform. However, previous generations based on Snapdragon 7c proved to be more than worthy alternatives, especially in Chromebooks.

Instead, this time around Qualcomm is focused on comparing the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 to competing Intel platforms in the entry-level laptop/2-in-1 convertible market. When it comes to performance-per-watt, Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is up to 60 percent more efficient than the Intel Celeron N4020 and N5030. The company also claims that Windows 10 performance for the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is slightly better than the Celeron N4020, though sliding in a bit behind the beefier Celeron 5030.

Moving on to Chromebooks, a platform where Qualcomm sees huge potential for its new SoC, the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 offers vastly superior performance in Geekbench 5 and GFXBench 5.0 compared to the Celeron N4020 and Arm-based competition from MediaTek. Likewise, battery life is also a strong suit for the new Snapdragon contender. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 can last "days" on a charge, thanks to its power-efficient design.

Unfortunately, things haven't changed much with respect to connectivity. That means that we still have Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0, and 4G LTE support courtesy of an integrated Snapdragon X15 modem. Given that it targets entry-level devices, 5G support was likely out of the question due to cost targets, though unfettered native connectivity, without the need for Wi-Fi, is still a strong suit for the platform.

"Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 brings the leading innovations of our compute portfolio to the next generation of entry-tier and affordable devices. Laptops powered by this platform will redefine mobile computing for education users, first line workers, and everyday light consumers, enabling reliable and powerful devices that feature advanced AI, and support for multi-day battery life," said Miguel Nunes, Senior Director for Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies. "We are excited to bring this next generation upgrade to our entry level platform, for the very best mobile PC experiences."

According to Qualcomm, the first Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 machines from partners like Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, Samsung, and Hewlett-Packard will ship this summer in Google Chromebooks and Microsoft Windows 10 on Arm flavors.