Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765G processor has only begun to appear in a handful of phones this year. However, a sequel is already in the works.

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 768G today (May 11). This Snapdragon 768G is a new lineup of 7 series chips for cell phones, not necessarily flagships; the G at the end of the 768 name indicates that this chipset is a gaming-optimized chip, and the Adreno 620 GPU is 15% more powerful than the Snapdragon 765G announced late last year; the 765G already promised faster graphics compared to the standard 765 system-on-chip, so this represents a significant graphics boost in a short period of time.

Faster graphics were not the only change in the Snapdragon 768G. Qualcomm also increased the clock speed of the chipset's Kryo 475 CPU's prime core to 2.8 GHz. (The new chipset also supports the Adreno updatable GPU driver, a feature introduced in the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865, which allows users to download GPU update drivers directly from the app store for an optimized gaming experience.

You may not be familiar with the Snapdragon765 family, but it is only recently that they have begun to be used in mobile devices. The standard Snapdragon 765 is found in newly released phones such as the LG Velvet and Motorola Edge, while the Snapdragon 765G is found in the Nokia 8.3 and TCL 10 5G.

Both the Snapdragon 765 and 768G may not be as powerful as the Snapdragon 865 in flagship devices such as the Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8, but both 7 series chipsets have built-in 5G modems The 7 series chipsets both have built-in 5G modems. This allows handset makers to develop 5G handsets without the $1,000 or so price tag found on Snapdragon 865-powered devices.

Qualcomm's eagerness to acquire another low-cost 5G-capable processor reflects the stage at which 5G is currently being rolled out. While early adopters may have been willing to pay more for a 5G-enabled phone in the early days of the new network standard, the availability of more affordable 5G phones will likely increase the use of these phones by more smartphone buyers. (The launch of a 5G-enabled iPhone will help in that regard, too, but the iPhone 12 won't arrive until the fall.) 5G phones around $500 are about to appear, and the Snapdragon 765 and later the Snapdragon 768G are a big reason for that.

Qualcomm's decision to roll out gaming-optimized chips is also not surprising given the rise of mobile gaming. In a report earlier this year, the NPD Group said there are 214 million mobile gamers in the U.S. and they spent $11.82 billion on gaming last year, up 24% from the previous year. Clearly, Qualcomm and mobile device manufacturers are counting on the fact that people need phones that can take full advantage of these games.

Qualcomm did not say when a device powered by the Snapdragon 768G would be available, but at the same time the company announced its new chipset, Chinese phone maker Xiaomi announced the Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition. This will be the first commercial phone to feature the Snapdragon 768G, but probably not the last.