Qualcomm Unveils New Chips for Handheld Game Consoles

Qualcomm's trio of new chips are designed for handheld gaming consoles, and they're coming just in time to catch up with the growing popularity of these devices. The first handsets using Qualcomm's new silicon, which the company announced at GDC 2025, will launch later this month.

OneXSugar 1 Handheld Game Console (Photo: Cnet)

Qualcomm released its first chip for mobile devices, the Snapdragon G3X, for high-end handsets in 2021 and has released new versions in the years since.

While mobile gaming remains popular, the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck have proven the capabilities of high-end devices for on-the-go gaming, paving the way for similar handhelds to grow into a more popular segment, from smaller devices like the Analogue Pocket to premium platforms like the Lenovo Legion Go S.

Qualcomm's three new chips are suitable for different levels of gaming devices. Among them, Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 is for high-end devices, G2 Gen 2 for the standard segment, and G1 Gen 2 is optimized for devices specializing in game streaming.

Different from chips for phones or PCs, this chip line is designed by Qualcomm specifically for gaming, optimizing performance for each separate workload.

What really separates the mobile world from the console world is that consoles are designed specifically for gaming, said Micah Knapp, director of business and product for Snapdragon Gaming Platforms.

They are built to be held and played for long periods of time without discomfort. We are designing the entire platform – from software, hardware to every element involved – to achieve peak performance and maintain that performance over long periods of time .”

Qualcomm's three chips are designed with different features and price points, targeting different segments of handheld gaming. The launch comes at a time when the handheld gaming market is experiencing a boom.

We are seeing a diversification of handheld gaming devices, from compact, low-cost models sold on e-commerce platforms, to high-end devices like the Acer Nitro Blaze with 8-inch and 11-inch screens, introduced at CES 2025.

Despite sharing DNA with mobile chips, Qualcomm's new trio of handheld gaming chips are designed specifically for Android gaming experiences.

Instead of using the new generation Oryon CPU with superior AI performance, Qualcomm chose the Kryo CPU. The company explained that Kryo is better suited to meet the rapid production needs of handset manufacturers, at least for now.

Hien Phan (Source: Cnet)

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