Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform to Power a New Generation of Dedicated Gaming Devices

[TheLostSwede]

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announces the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform, a purpose-built platform that allows gamers the best place to play their favorite games. The platform delivers cutting-edge performance to run all Android games, play content from cloud gaming libraries, stream games from your home console or PC, and enjoy entertainment from your favorite Android apps. Amassing the entire arsenal of Snapdragon Elite Gaming technologies together to create a premium category of dedicated consumer gaming products, the platform is designed to power incredible experiences for gamers on-the-go.

To showcase the platform, Qualcomm Technologies partnered with Razer to build the first Snapdragon G3x Handheld Gaming Developer Kit, which is available exclusively for developers starting today. Razer is a global leader in gaming hardware and has already constructed one of the world's largest gamer-focused ecosystems of hardware, software, and services.



"Razer is extremely excited to partner with Qualcomm Technologies and support them on their way to introduce new cutting-edge technology to the global gaming industry," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and chief executive officer. "Together, Qualcomm Technologies and Razer will lead the way with new and innovative solutions that push the boundaries of fidelity and quality available in portable gaming, transforming the way these games are experienced."

To provide developers a device with high-end graphics and ubiquitous connectivity, the dedicated handheld developer kit was designed around the Snapdragon G3x platform for uncompromised performance.

• Display: 6.65-inch OLED display with Full HD+ resolution and 10-bit HDR: Operating at up to 120hz, the OLED dazzles with over a billion shades of colors.
• Performance: Provides outstanding sustained performance enabling long-lasting game play on the most demanding titles.
• The Ultimate Streaming Tool: A 5MP/1080p60 webcam with two mics that players can use to capture themselves playing and stream games to their audiences as the ultimate broadcasting tool.
• Connectivity: 5G mmWave and sub-6 and Wi-Fi 6E for the fastest connectivity for low latency, ultra-fast uploads and downloads, and the most reliable connection.
• Ergonomics: Well balanced and easy to grip controls, for comfortable gameplay over an extended period. The developer kit also has built-in controller mapping from AKSys to provide precise touch to controller mapping technology to enable use of the built-in controllers across a wide array of games.
• Snapdragon Sound: On device 4-way speakers provide fantastic audio and when paired with Snapdragon Sound enabled earbuds, gamers can experience lag-free wireless audio.

The Snapdragon G3x platform brings next-generation gaming to player's hands. It features:

• The Qualcomm Adreno GPU to run games at an ultra-smooth 144 frames per second and 10-bit HDR for gaming in over a billion shades of color.
• Powerhouse connectivity from Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Mobile Connectivity featuring Wi-Fi 6 and 6E for low latency and fast upload and download speeds. 5G mmWave and sub-6 for ultra-fast, lag-free cloud gaming while streaming the most bandwidth-intensive games from services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Steam Remote Play.
• Snapdragon Sound technology is optimized for quality, latency, and robustness so gamers can pinpoint opponents and hear all the action around them.
• With support from AKSys, it provides precise touch to controller mapping technology to enable use of the built-in controllers across a wide array of games.
• Multi-screen, augmented experience can be unlocked with the ability to tether to an XR viewer via USB-C to a Snapdragon G3x powered device. It also allows for a device to act as a companion controller to a 4K display television.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Space Lynx]

120hz OLED portable gaming... hmm depending on the price this already stomps Steam Deck...

 

[dj-electric]

The problem with android devices for gaming is...
The games themselves.

Honestly, besides emulation, how many games in Android today are genuinely worth playing without scummy freemium mechanics?
The games is why people are excited for the Steam Deck

 

[Caring1]

The problem with android devices for gaming is...
The games themselves.

Honestly, besides emulation, how many games in Android today are genuinely worth playing without scummy freemium mechanics?
The games is why people are excited for the Steam Deck

With multiplayer bots and rip off loot boxes and pay per upgrades?

 

[Space Lynx]

The problem with android devices for gaming is...
The games themselves.

Honestly, besides emulation, how many games in Android today are genuinely worth playing without scummy freemium mechanics?
The games is why people are excited for the Steam Deck

huh? did you not read it right? you can stream games from your PC too, the cloud, Android games are just a part of it. but sure thing

 

[dj-electric]

you can stream games from your PC too, the cloud, Android games are just a part of it. but sure thing

Streamed games are a noble novelty, but not everybody enjoy this method of playing games, definitely not on the go and remote. You know, the place people often take mobile gaming devices.
Im sure whoever likes playing PUBG Mobile, CoD Modern-cashgrab and other snakeoil will love this thing

 

[Space Lynx]

Streamed games are a noble novelty, but not everybody enjoy this method of playing games, definitely not on the go and remote. You know, the place people often take mobile gaming devices.
Im sure whoever likes playing PUBG Mobile, CoD Modern-cashgrab and other snakeoil will love this thing

Cloud gaming isn't that bad anymore, I tried it at work the other night, it won't work for all genres though that is true.

 

[Chaitanya]

The problem with android devices for gaming is...
The games themselves.

Honestly, besides emulation, how many games in Android today are genuinely worth playing without scummy freemium mechanics?
The games is why people are excited for the Steam Deck

You are forgetting the biggest hurdle on android- long term updates to OS itself.

 

[R0H1T]

Honestly, besides emulation, how many games in Android today are genuinely worth playing without scummy freemium mechanics?
The games is why people are excited for the Steam Deck

A lot actually, besides the worldwide Android gaming market is probably bigger than PC right now.

As someone who does game on portable devices (mainly phone or tablet) Steam Deck, even with the insane PC game library, is starting from way behind.

 

[TheLostSwede]

120hz OLED portable gaming... hmm depending on the price this already stomps Steam Deck...

Except it has a much weaker CPU and GPU.

You are forgetting the biggest hurdle on android- long term updates to OS itself.

Well, supposedly, maybe, if we're lucky, Qualcomm might support three OS updates from now on.

 

[Space Lynx]

Except it has a much weaker CPU and GPU.


Well, supposedly, maybe, if we're lucky, Qualcomm might support three OS updates from now on.

this is a cloud and streaming device, thats really what is should be advertised as. so that is fine really. and since it supports 5g, it might not be half bad, can't say i have ever heard of anyone testing 5g cloud gaming before, would be a good review for tpu to do

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

this is a cloud and streaming device, thats really what is should be advertised as. so that is fine really. and since it supports 5g, it might not be half bad, can't say i have ever heard of anyone testing 5g cloud gaming before, would be a good review for tpu to do

Another point is price, I can see the utility but how much for it?!.

As for steam deck it has options this doesn't but they're not aimed at exactly the same consumer either, I have no android Library of game's to speak of and wouldn't stream, so not me for example.

 

[Fourstaff]

Are they aiming to prep themselves for Switch replacement?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Are they aiming to prep themselves for Switch replacement?

Almost seems like it.

 

[Space Lynx]

Almost seems like it.

What does this have to do with the Switch? that's a nvidia APU i thought?

 

[Thribits]

120hz OLED portable gaming... hmm depending on the price this already stomps Steam Deck...

Well... Not really
SteamDeck will be able to play full on PC-games whilst this one will only be able to stream them.

 

[TheLostSwede]

What does this have to do with the Switch? that's a nvidia APU i thought?

Qualcomm might want some business from Nintendo, the Switch is Arm based after all.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

Steam Deck is still the go-to portable console since it can do almost everything.

 

[Thribits]

Steam Deck is still the go-to portable console since it can do almost everything.

True
Seems like everyone is trying to jump onto the hype train with their own version of the steamdeck

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

and the closest Deck competitor, like the Aya Neo, doesn't come close in terms of features, apart from it being much more expensive for a fully-loaded Neo console.

 

[Fourstaff]

Steam Deck is still the go-to portable console since it can do almost everything.

A lot of faith for a device which have not been tested yet.

 

[Valantar]

Qualcomm might want some business from Nintendo, the Switch is Arm based after all.

Nvidia doesn't seem to have much interest in producing a chip that would be suitable for a future Switch Pro (or whatever it would be called), so this seems plausible. I doubt Nintendo wants to repurpose an automotive or ML-focused SoC for their updated console. There's of course a massive question of GPU compatibility and drivers handling the huge library of Switch games on a new architecture, but that might be doable (or we might see some classic Nintendo jankiness).

As for this, it's a nice looking device, but the software will hold it back. Guess that's why it's aimed at developers! Android gaming is indeed huge, but it's dominated by various casual games that this is unsuited for (imagine playing Candy Crush on this) plus a handful of huge multi-player titles (Fortnite, PUBG, Genshin). Heck, they're even advertising its ability to map touchscreen controls to the buttons and sticks, which just underscores how poorly developed that market is.

Speaking of pricing, this being a developer oriented device I'm guessing it won't be cheap.

 

[watzupken]

The problem with android devices for gaming is...
The games themselves.

Honestly, besides emulation, how many games in Android today are genuinely worth playing without scummy freemium mechanics?
The games is why people are excited for the Steam Deck

I agree. In my opinion, the games in Google Playstore are pretty bad, i.e. most are freemium and will come with some sort of pay for this and that mechanism. In addition, most people who game on phones heavily would have invested in a high end phone to keep up with the ever increasing hardware requirement. There is little reason to buy another expensive device to play Android games. One can argue that there is the option of cloud base games, but then again, so can the mobile phone/ tablet isn't it?

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

The biggest market for something like this is to play emulators, frankly. Outside of fortnite, pubg, genshin, and asphalt, there are not many game that can be considered better then freemium trash.

Nvidia doesn't seem to have much interest in producing a chip that would be suitable for a future Switch Pro (or whatever it would be called), so this seems plausible. I doubt Nintendo wants to repurpose an automotive or ML-focused SoC for their updated console. There's of course a massive question of GPU compatibility and drivers handling the huge library of Switch games on a new architecture, but that might be doable (or we might see some classic Nintendo jankiness).

As for this, it's a nice looking device, but the software will hold it back. Guess that's why it's aimed at developers! Android gaming is indeed huge, but it's dominated by various casual games that this is unsuited for (imagine playing Candy Crush on this) plus a handful of huge multi-player titles (Fortnite, PUBG, Genshin). Heck, they're even advertising its ability to map touchscreen controls to the buttons and sticks, which just underscores how poorly developed that market is.

Speaking of pricing, this being a developer oriented device I'm guessing it won't be cheap.

If I were in the dev team at nintendo, I'd make sure that the software dev kit targeted APIs instead of hardware to ensure the underlying hardware could be changed without issue IE the way android phones work. Given the switch is technically running android underneath this is a very real possibility, they used the tegra not because it was the best but because they got it dirt cheap.

A switch with a G3x would be something....

 

[Asni]

I'm perfectly aware of the limits of these products (Steam Deck, Aya Neo etc) and i justify them but i don't understand why they don't implement adaptive refresh rate to make the experience smoother.