In addition to flagship mobile processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Qualcomm has introduced the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 system-on-chip. This chip enables smartphones to deliver premium performance and advanced features at a more affordable price.
The main difference is that the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor does not use its own Oryon cores – the company has retained the Kryo architecture. However, Qualcomm promises a performance boost of up to 49% compared to the previous generation, as well as a number of other improvements. Another compromise was the use of 4nm production technology, probably N4P from TSMC. This means that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is inferior to the Snapdragon 8 Elite in terms of energy efficiency.
Nevertheless, the chipset has a powerful 1+3+2+2+2 core configuration, with the most powerful core running at 3.20 GHz and the performance cores operating at 3.00 GHz. Although Qualcomm did not disclose the name of the GPU, the company claims that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 delivers a 49% increase in graphics performance compared to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. Overall, CPU performance has increased by 31% and energy efficiency has improved by 39%.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 has a fast 5G modem, but without mmWave support. Instead, it operates in the range of up to 6 GHz with a maximum download speed of 4.2 Gbps. Additionally, Bluetooth 6.0, Wi-Fi 7, UFS 4.0, and LPDDR5X (4800 MHz) are supported.
At the same time, the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor is equipped with a powerful NPU that provides 44% higher AI computing performance. The chipset also received an improved image processing unit (ISP) that supports:
- Cameras up to 320 MP
- Playback of 8K HDR @ 60FPS
- 4K HDR @ 60FPS recording
Chinese manufacturers are expected to actively use Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 in their premium smartphones. No specific devices with this chip have been reported yet.
Earlier, Qualcomm released a stripped-down version of the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with one deactivated core.
Source: wccftech