Qualcomm has announced new gaming focussed SoC named the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1. The new chip has onboard 5G, can support 4k screens up to 144 FPS and has true 10-but HDR enabled. Razer launched a handheld dev kit powered by the new SoC to show off its capabilities. 

The announcement follows the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor for 2022 flagships. The new chip also promised significant upgrades in power efficiency, AI and camera capabilities. 

According to Qualcomm, their latest platform “is designed to be the PC gaming rig of mobile games and provides the best possible experience for gaming in the palm of your hand.”

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An entirely new handheld gaming experience

With devices like the Nintendo Switch already on the market and Valve’s Steam Deck nearing its launch, it’ll be interesting to see how Qualcomm’s new platform manages to fit in the market. 

With its streaming capabilities, the device is sure to hit somewhere in between the two. It can run Android games natively while giving users the ability to stream games for their PlayStation, Xbox or PC, even allowing support for cloud gaming platforms like Microsoft’s Game Pass and the ability to access your Steam library straight on the device.

The Adreno GPU inside features upgradable drivers for better came optimisation. You get a USB-C port that supports connections to AR or VR headsets and even a 4K monitor up to 144 FPS, in addition to supporting 10-bit HDR gaming. Lastly, there’s support for Variable Rate Shading and an in-built haptics engine. 

On the connectivity side, you get 5G millimetre wave powered by the Modem-RF System and the Qualcomm FastConnect Subsystem with WiFi 6E. The handheld developer kit also features a 5 MP 1080p webcam with dual mics and a 6.65-inch 120Hz HDR OLED display.

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