A report published by VideoCardz reveals that Qualcomm seems to be collaborating with Razor on a new gaming handheld developer kit built around its upcoming G3X processor. Leaked information in the hands of VideoCardz refers to the device as a “Snapdragon G3X Handheld Developer Kit”.
Being branded as a developer kit strongly hints that it will be aimed at software developers and manufacturers to encourage them to build their own software and hardware powered by Qualcomm’s mobile gaming technology. Having these developers and manufacturers tweaking their products to perform optimally in Qualcomm’s hardware ensures users will be more likely to buy Qualcomm products over other competitors in the same space.
Alongside the developer kit, VideoCardz also talks about Qualcomm’s next flagship smartphone processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The chip becomes the first one to have the new naming scheme from the company, replacing the Snapdragon 888. They claim the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be 20% faster and 30% more power-efficient compared to the current flagship SoC, which is ultimately the Snapdragon 888.
The new flagship will also reportedly be manufactured on the 4 nm processing technology, which explains its efficiency increasing by such a wide margin. It will also have a fourth-generation Adreno GPU. Qualcomm subsequently expects 30% higher GPU performance and 25% power savings from its new architecture.
The other noteworthy specs of the leaked handheld gaming console include a USB-C port for XR accessories, support for DisplayPort over USB-C, a 6,000mAh battery, 1080p webcam, and “incredible ergonomics and haptics.” The display will reportedly be an OLED panel, with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for HDR.
When it comes to wireless connectivity, the handheld device will include a 5G mmWave, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Expectedly, just like other handheld devices, the device will have the capability to stream from game services like xCloud and Stadia.
This is not the first time Qualcomm is putting out such a device to encourage development and innovation on the company’s platforms. Early this year, the company developed a Windows PC on Arm that was targeted at providing software developers with hardware that was very affordable to use when developing Arm apps for Snapdragon-based PCs. They have also experimented with putting processors in VR headsets to offer better performance.
While this handheld will be running Android, it is still bound to draw comparisons to the Steam Deck and the Lenovo handheld that we earlier looked at. The Lenovo handheld will also be running Android, but the Steam Deck will be a Linux-based PC running on an AMD processor. Qualcomm definitely thinks that other companies will be interested in joining this space and are therefore marketing their processors for any interested party to consider them in developing their own handheld gaming console.
VideoCardz have not provided a date on when the developer kit will be officially launched, but considering Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Tech Summit is currently ongoing over the course of this week, the company might still decide to shed more information and possibly a release date of the handheld console.
