Qualcomm takes a swing at Nintendo Switch with Snapdragon G3x Gen 1, its first chip for handheld consoles

Qualcomm also hasn’t shared a lot of granular details of the chip.

Qualcomm announced Snapdragon G3x Gen 1, its first dedicated chip for Nintendo Switch-like handheld consoles on Thursday at its Snapdragon Tech Summit 2021. The San Diego-based chipmaker also revealed that it has partnered with Razer, a company that specializes in making gaming gear and accessories, on the Snapdragon G3x Handheld Developer Kit—a device built to demo or showcase the power and feature-set of the new chip.

Qualcomm has no immediate plans to sell any console based on the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1, nor has it confirmed any OEMs that would launch any such devices in the future—like it has with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, and Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3, chips that have all been announced alongside the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1. Instead, it wants developers to take the platform and design games around it first.

Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Handheld Developer Kit

Qualcomm also hasn’t shared a lot of granular details of the chip, just that, it will “unite all the Snapdragon Elite Gaming Technologies to create a powerful new category of gaming devices.” The Snapdragon G3x Handheld Developer Kit does help a little to give you some sort of approximate picture as to what a console with Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 may look like and the things that it would probably be able to do. These designs will of course vary depending on how OEMs choose to build around it.

Razer’s Snapdragon G3x Handheld Developer Kit has a 6.65-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED display and runs Android—which is to say all existing games available in the Play Store should work fine. The console is being touted for its “incredible ergonomics and haptics.” It will pack an unspecified Adreno GPU and support mmWave 5G connectivity, in addition to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The USB Type-C port on-board the console will allow users to connect it to a high-res display (over DisplayPort) as well as to XR accessories. Rounding off the package are a 6,000mAh battery and 1080p webcam.

The bigger draw, though, is support for cross-platform play.

“In addition to access to a huge library of Android mobile games, you can stream and play PC games, cloud games, and console games,” Qualcomm said, adding “the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform allows you to play all your favorite games, no matter what platform, on one device.”