Qualcomm has revealed its latest upcoming phone tech for 2024. The new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset is going to power some of 2024’s best mid-range Android phones. It’s a step down from the flagship 8 Gen 3 chipset that’s powering the high-end handsets releasing this year.
Crafted using a 4-nanometer process, this chipset is one step down from its overachieving sibling, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Qualcomm’s Deepu John explained that it comes just below the 8 Gen 3, and an 8 Plus Gen 3 would sit on top (if one arrives). It’s sporting a peculiar 1+4+3 core configuration, with a prime ARM Cortex X4 that hums along at a cool 3.0GHz.
You’ll find it accompanied by four performance cores at 2.8GHz, and a trio of 2.0GHz cores dedicated to efficiency. The chip also packs a last-gen X70 5G modem and offers Wi-Fi 7 support. This is good news because, let’s face it, who wants to wait for videos to buffer? For gamers, hardware-accelerated ray tracing is here to make virtual worlds a tad more lifelike. Audio-wise, it supports Qualcomm’s Aqstic Speaker Max tech and Auracast for high-definition sound.
On the AI front, this chip is no slouch either. It can handle generative AI models up to the hefty size of 10 billion parameters, catering to high-maintenance AI assistants and photo expansion. However, it seems Qualcomm left out a few AI party tricks from the 8 Gen 3’s repertoire, but who’s counting? It’s more than capable enough to support models like Gemini Nano and Llama 2.
The arrival of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is a little confusing, especially when you remember the likes of the OnePlus 12R still rocking last year’s 7 Gen 3. This chip is set to debut in a range of mid-range smartphones from Honor, iQOO, Realme, Redmi, and Xiaomi. Announcements are expected later this month and beyond, although none of the devices are expected to launch in the US.
