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Qualcomm: Latest Smartphone Chip
Qualcomm recently introduced its newest smartphone System on Chip (SoC) known as the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, expanding the capabilities of on-device artificial intelligence in mobile devices. Despite the nomenclature similarity to Apple’s “S” upgrade cycles, Qualcomm clarifies that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is distinct from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, being a carefully curated variant designed to cater to specific market segments.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm’s flagship smartphone chip, features a core configuration that includes a 3.3 GHz “Prime” Arm Cortex X4 core, five “medium” A720 cores (three at 3.2 GHz, two at 2.0 GHz), and two “small” 2.3 GHz A520 cores for background operations. In contrast, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 adopts a modified core setup, replacing one medium core with a small core, resulting in a 1+4+3 configuration instead of 1+5+2. Additionally, clock speeds are slightly reduced across the board, with the Prime core operating at 3 GHz, medium cores at 2.8 GHz, and small cores at 2 GHz.
Notably, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 incorporates an X70 modem rather than the X75 found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. While this adjustment theoretically suggests a lower maximum download speed of 5Gbps compared to 10Gbps, the practical impact on user experience may be negligible unless supported by network infrastructure. Furthermore, the X70 modem appears to consume more power, indicated by the use of “Qualcomm 5G PowerSave Gen 3” instead of the advanced “Qualcomm 5G PowerSave Gen 4” present in the flagship chip. Despite these variations, both SoCs share the same 4nm manufacturing process, with video capabilities capped at 4K resolution for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.
According to Qualcomm, prominent smartphone manufacturers such as Honor, iQOO, realme, Redmi, and Xiaomi are set to embrace the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 in their upcoming devices. This move signals a strategic focus on the “budget flagship” smartphone segment, particularly popular among Chinese OEMs, hinting at the market positioning and target audience for this new chipset.
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