Qualcomm has dominated the smartphone processor market for some time now, and its presence is felt in a wide range of smartphones. From the entry-level segment with the Snapdragon 200 series to the flagship Snapdragon 800 series, the silicon giant has a variety of processors in its portfolio. Among them are also two chipsets that belong to a slightly different series but can be found in similarly priced phones – the Snapdragon 778G Plus and the Snapdragon 870.

The Snapdragon 778G Plus and Snapdragon 870 were launched 9 months apart, with the latter being the older one. Interestingly, both chipsets are improved and polished versions of their predecessors, not a true generational upgrade. The Snapdragon 778G Plus has its roots in the Snapdragon 778G, while the Snapdragon 870 is the successor to the Snapdragon 865 platform. Let’s compare the Snapdragon 778G Plus and the Snapdragon 870 to find out which of the two chipsets is better.

Snapdragon 778G Plus vs Snapdragon 870 – Release dates

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus was launched in the second half of 2021 as an improved revision of Qualcomm’s existing Snapdragon 778G.

The Snapdragon 870 was launched in January 2021 as a refresh of the Snapdragon 865, but not as incremental as the Snapdragon 888.

In both cases, the chipsets’ base architecture remained the same, but the clock speed was slightly increased for better performance efficiency.

Snapdragon 778G Plus vs Snapdragon 870 – CPU Performance

The Snapdragon 778G Plus is an octa-core chipset with Kryo 670 cores clocked at up to 2.5 GHz. This chipset is manufactured on a 6nm architecture.

On the other hand, the Snapdragon 870 uses an eight-core configuration with Kyro 585 cores clocked at up to 3.2 GHz. The Snapdragon 870 is based on a 7nm architecture.

The Snapdragon 778G Plus features the newer Kryo cores but not the Cortex X1 core of the flagship. The higher frequency of the Snapdragon 870 gives it a performance advantage compared to the Snapdragon 778G Plus.

Snapdragon 778G+ vs Snapdragon 870 – GPU Comparison

The Snapdragon 778G Plus is equipped with the Adreno 642L GPU clocked at 500 MHz. The Snapdragon 870 has the more powerful Adreno 650 GPU with a higher clock rate of 675 MHz. When it comes to gaming performance, the better GPU of the Snapdragon 870 outperforms the Snapdragon 778G Plus by almost 30%.

Since the SD 870 is based on Qualcomm’s true flagship silicon (Snapdragon 865), it has more gaming potential than the Snapdragon 778G+, an upper mid-range chipset. The only advantage the SD 778G+ has here is its 6nm architecture, which consumes comparatively less power and emits less heat than the 7nm-based SD 870.

Network and Connectivity

The Snapdragon 778G Plus is equipped with the Qualcomm X53 5G modem, while the Snapdragon 870 has the more advanced Qualcomm X55 5G modem. The Snapdragon 870 chipset’s better modem enables faster upload and download speeds compared to the Snapdragon 778G Plus. Both are 5G-capable, but the Snapdragon 870 has higher bandwidth.

The Qualcomm X53 modem on the SD 778G Plus supports mmWave with a bandwidth of 400 MHz and sub-6 GHz with a bandwidth of 120 MHz. As mentioned earlier, the Snapdragon 870 chipset supports mmWave with a higher bandwidth of 800 MHz and the sub-6 GHz band with a bandwidth of 200 MHz. This higher bandwidth means that a device with SD 870 can support more 5G bands compared to the SD 778G Plus.

The Snapdragon 778G Plus gets a slight advantage over the Snapdragon 870 in WiFi. Since the SD 778G+ is newer, it gets support for WiFi 6E, instead of the regular WiFi 6 on the SD 870. This allows the SD 778G Plus to utilize a higher bandwidth with less interference on the 6 GHz band. Both chipsets feature Bluetooth 5.2 and support Qualcomm’s TrueWireless technology.

Other parameters like location modules, NFC support, and USB are identical in both processors. They are equipped with GPS, GLONASS, NavIC, Beidou, and Galileo as positioning instruments. The USB standards here are USB 3.1 via a Type-C port.

Display and Cameras

The Snapdragon 778G Plus can display a screen with a maximum resolution of FHD+ at 144Hz. However, the Snapdragon 870 can go further with a 4K display at 60 Hz or a QHD+ resolution with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. It is clear that the Snapdragon 870 has more potential to drive displays with higher resolutions. Both chipsets are compatible with HDR 10 and HDR 10+.

In the camera department, the Snapdragon 778G Plus can have a maximum of three rear cameras, while the SD 870 only supports 2 rear cameras. However, the SD 870 can record slow-motion videos at up to 960 frames per second, while the SD 778G Plus can only manage 240 frames per second. The SD 870 can also record videos directly in Dolby Vision, which is not possible with the SD 778G Plus. So for the price of a camera, you get support for a higher frame rate in slow motion and Dolby Vision recording on the Snapdragon 870.

Image processing duties are handled by the Spectra 570L ISP on the SD 778G Plus, while the SD 870 is equipped with the older Spectra 480 ISP. Both ISPs are triple 14-bit, support multi-frame noise reduction, AI-based autofocus, and more. However, the Spectra 570L ISP on the SD 778G Plus is slightly superior to the Spectra 480 on the SD 870 in terms of speed.

Miscellaneous Features

Apart from the major differences between the SD 778G Plus and SD 870, there are also some minor differences as well as similarities. Although the clock frequency on the SD 778G Plus is lower than the SD 870, the 778G Plus RAM supports higher frequencies up to 3200 MHz compared to 2750 MHz on the SD 870. Both devices support Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+, which is hard to find nowadays, but it is present here. They also have Qualcomm aptX support with multiple security-based encodings common among them.

Snapdragon 778G Plus vs Snapdragon 870: Verdict

The Snapdragon 870 chipset is stronger compared to the Snapdragon 778G Plus in terms of pure performance. This is because Qualcomm developed the SD 870 based on a real flagship processor (Snapdragon 865), while the Snapdragon 778G Plus is more of a premium chipset for the mid-range. The SD 778G Plus has an advantage with WiFi 6E support, the three rear-facing cameras, and the energy-efficient 6nm design.

If your priorities are pure performance, you should go for a Snapdragon 870 device as it is at least 30% better than the Snapdragon 778G Plus in this area. If you want more cameras, better battery life, and the latest WiFi 6E support to pair with your WiFi 6E router, then the Snapdragon 778G is the ideal choice. The performance of the Snapdragon 778G Plus is not bad either, but in direct competition with the Snapdragon 870, the latter wins when it comes to showcasing its performance.

Both the Snapdragon 778G Plus and Snapdragon 870 chipsets can be found in devices in the 25-30K INR ($260) price range. We have already seen the Snapdragon 778G Plus in devices like the Moto Edge 30. However, the upcoming Nothing Phone (1) was the most anticipated device with the Snapdragon 778G Plus. The Snapdragon 870 has seen good success too as an affordable performance-centric chipset and can be found on the Poco F4 5G, Mi 11X, iQOO Neo 6 5G and other few devices.