Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Compute Platform Promises “Phone-Like” Laptops

Phone-like laptops might be part of our everyday lives in the future with Qualcomm’s newest compute platform.

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The company recently debuted the second generation of the Snapdragon 7c compute platform, which provides thin, light and fan-less entry-level Windows laptops and Chromebooks with improved battery life and performance. Additionally, Lenovo’s chief marketing officer of its Intelligent Devices Group, Emily Ketchen, said that Lenovo is looking to launch devices with the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 installed “later this year”.

Qualcomm mentioned that the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is “the ideal solution” for students, frontline workers and everyday light consumers.

Devices with the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 are “Always on, Always connected”, allowing devices to provide instant access to them without waiting for notifications or applications to wake up – just like a smartphone. However, this feature requires a network connection with compatible networks, something Qualcomm has covered with the compute platform’s integrated Snapdragon X15 4G LTE modem. The modem enables a laptop to automatically and seamlessly switch between trusted Wi-Fi and cellular networks, helping you keep a secure connection anywhere, any time.

Having a laptop that is always on and connected can easily drain its battery charge. However, the compute platform supports multi-day battery life, providing laptops with twice the battery life of most competing platforms, up to 19 or more hours of continuous use. What’s more, the platform’s ability to keep a laptop on and connected does not come at the cost of battery life.

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With most classes and work done indoors at home, Qualcomm has also integrated its Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor for a crisp, high-quality video and Qualcomm Aqstic Audio technology to deliver clear audio regardless if it’s for work, classes or personal calls. This means devices with the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 compute platform installed is guaranteed to have virtual surround sound, echo cancellation and noise suppression.

As for security, Qualcomm added modern security features to keep you and your data safe from the chip to the cloud. With the help of a secured and reliable connection that the platform’s modem provides, the whole compute platform will keep itself updated against “zero-day” threats. Additionally, to help secure your device, Qualcomm added a layered secure boot with multiple verifications, which helps ensure your device starts safely and securely.

Lastly, the whole compute platform runs on a 64-bit Octa-core Qualcomm “Kryo” 468 CPU, capable of clock speeds of up to 2.55GHz.

Qualcomm mentioned that it expects the first device based on the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 to be available for purchase during the summer of 2021. The company heavily relies on manufacturing partners like Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce their chips. However, with the recent overheating issues with the Samsung-made Snapdragon 888 chip, it seems likely that Qualcomm will go with TSMC to produce the 7c Gen 2 chip. However, even with the company pairing up with TSMC, there could be some problems with manufacturing the compute platform as the global semiconductor shortage is still in full swing.

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Written by John Paul Joaquin