Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Here’s what you need to know about the chip that will power 2024 flagship Android phones
The Snapdragon series by Qualcomm has always been a benchmark for cutting-edge technology and innovation. Today’s addition to the Snapdragon family, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, promises to take smartphones another step forward.
What does the 8 Gen 3 offer, and when can we expect its appearance in new smartphones? Here’s everything we know about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.When will the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones launch?
Qualcomm unveiled the 8 Gen 3 at its Snapdragon Summit on 24 October. Normally you wouldn’t expect phones to be available straight away but Xiaomi has announced that its 14 series will be unveiled on 26 October by way of a post on Weibo. It’s highly likely that the Xiaomi 14 will be the first phone unveiled that will have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.What are the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 specs and features?
Let’s break the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 down into a few of its core parts to talk about what’s new.Kryo CPU & Adreno GPU
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 uses 4nm process technology – not the 3nm that was rumoured and which Apple uses for it A17 Pro. Nevertheless, Qualcomm’s new chip delivers even better performance with its Kryo CPU and Adreno GPU.
The Qualcomm Kryo CPU, built on a 64-bit architecture, includes one Prime core that can reach speeds of up to 3.3 GHz. It employs Arm Cortex-X4 technology and incorporates five ‘Performance’ cores (up to 3.2 GHz) and two ‘Efficiency’ cores (up to 2.3 GHz). Compared to the Gen 2, the new chip offers 30% better performance and 20% power efficiency.
The Adreno GPU is 25% faster, 25% power efficiency, and a 40% improvement in Ray Tracing capabilities. These performance enhancements also come with 10% overall power savings, so you shouldn’t need to worry about battery life.
The 8 Gen 3 supports on-device display resolutions of up to 4K at 60Hz and QHD+ at 144Hz. It can also handle external displays with resolutions of up to 8K at 30Hz and 1080p at 240Hz, offering a versatile display experience.
To improve mobile gaming performance, the chipset introduces Snapdragon Game Super Resolution, allowing to upscale game scenes to 8K on external displays.
