Qualcomm’s new three chips were developed for handheld gaming consoles, and as these devices grow in popularity, they can catch up with the wave in time. The first handheld handhelds that the company displayed at GDC 2025 will be released later this month.
Qualcomm released its first handheld chip. Snapdragon G3Xfor the 2021 premium handheld handheld, and a new version was released in the following years. Although games on mobile phones are still popular, the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck prove the ability of high-end devices to play on the go, paving the way for similar handheld devices, from Simulated pocket Go to like Lenovo Legion GO S.
Qualcomm’s three new chips are suitable for different gaming devices: the high-end handheld Snapdragon G3 Gen 3, the standard handheld G2 Gen 2, and the G1 Gen 2, which is mainly used for streaming gaming. Like their predecessors, these chips are specifically designed for gaming and are designed for different workloads of release silicon with Qualcomm in mobile phones, PCs or other categories.
“What really separates the mobile world from the handheld world is that handheld gaming is a custom gaming device that is intended to play for a long time,” said Micah Knapp, head of business and product at Snapdragon gaming platform. “We are really designing the entire platform – software, hardware, everything around – to be able to get peak performance and then maintain it for a long time.”
Qualcomm announced three cores at GDC 2025: the G3 Gen 3 for high-end devices, the mid-size handheld handheld G2 Gen 2 and the G1 Gen 2 for handheld boards for major streaming games.
Compared to the top of its new lineup, the Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 has 30% CPU and 28% GPU (Adreno A32) performance. The predecessor of 2023supports up to four Quad HD Plus displays at 144Hz refresh rate, and its Qualcomm FastConnect Connectivity Chip enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity.
Qualcomm confirmed that it will include three devices including the G3 Gen 3 chip. The Ayaneo Pocket S2 will be launched in March, a sleek rectangular device with a 6.3-inch display. The larger Ayaneo gaming mat, hand-painted with a large controller and an 8.3-inch 120Hz display, will be available in May. Finally, Onexplayer Onexsugar 1, the first Android gaming device with dual screens, will also be available in May.
The Snapdragon G2 Gen 2, which has 2.3 times CPU and 3.8 times GPU (Adreno A22) performance compared to its predecessor in 2023. It also supports top quad HD and display at a 144Hz refresh rate, as well as the same FastConnect 7800-connected chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3.
This chip is designed to enable cheaper handheld, not in Lenovo Legion or Asus Rog Ally Xbut not as expensive as that. Although Qualcomm does not name a specific device, Handheld Maker Retroid Pocket will announce the device in a “very short time” that runs the G2 Gen 2.
Finally, the Snapdragon G1 Gen 2 is for devices that can play games, but will likely be streamed using cloud services like Xbox Game Pass and GeForce. Its CPU is 80% better, and the GPU (Adreno A12) performs 12% better than the chip’s 2023 predecessor.
Retroid Pocket PR Classic runs Snapdragon G1 Gen 2 chip.
Qualcomm’s G-series feature extended handheld
Qualcomm’s three chips are three chips for different devices with different features and sold at different prices – and they are the ideal time. Handheld gaming is enjoying a new era with different designs, formats and uses, from cheap pocket devices from online marketplace orders to high-end devices such as 8-inch and 11-inch high-end devices in wedge sizes Acer Nitro Blaze Launched at CES.
It’s safe to say that these different handheld gaming devices – some of them look like shrinking Nintendo gaming boys, some of them following the Nintendo Switch’s central screen layout – are not only cheap Android phones, but for a while now. Therefore, Qualcomm’s G-series chips are suitable for gaming platforms’ demand for longer gaming courses at high performance, rather than shorter, repetitive gaming sessions when playing on a phone.
That said, Qualcomm’s handheld gaming and mobile chips share some DNA, as all of the company’s new chips are designed to power Android-based devices. However, they also use Kryo CPUs, an older design that is used in Qualcomm’s latest Oryon CPUs Snapdragon 8 Elite Move and Snapdragon X Elite PC chips have increased performance and AI capabilities. The company has said its Kryo CPUs are perfect for powering many devices that handheld manufacturers release faster, at least so far.
“Can Aoyan help here? Absolutely. Are we going to see it in the future? Absolutely.”
Although there are many different kinds of handheld handhelds that can run their own custom operating systems, from small outfits to Steam decks running Steamos, and even Windows. But Qualcomm’s chips focus on devices running Android, which the company says makes the game portability helps run on different platforms, such as phones and cars (both of which make chips for Qualcomm). It also provides easy access to many games on the Google Play Store.
However, due to the increasing overlap between windows and Android space, it is easier to port software from one or the other. Knapp points out Epic Games, which makes Unreal’s engine and makes the process so rapid that it can “own a PC game and press a button and run on Android the same day.” As developers have been working on moving games to the touch interface of Android running the device, handheld devices are a great opportunity to consider their gamepads and buttons are easier to port.
“I do think this new form factor of handheld handheld and gaming boards will actually accelerate more PC games,” said Dave Durnil, head of gaming at Qualcomm Technologies. “As time goes by, we’ll start to see [PC games] Appearing on mobile devices is even faster, as handheld bridges provide this beautiful bridge from PC to Android. ”
