Qualcomm has recently unveiled a new Arm chip designed for the Snapdragon 8 series of smartphones. Called the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, the chip is not actually a direct successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, although the model name may be confusing. Instead, the chip is aimed at the lower-cost "cheap flagship" smartphone market, i.e. models that cost less than high-end devices. Despite the more affordable price point, the 8s Gen 3 chip still has many of the same high-end features that characterized the Snapdragon 8 series of chips, which used TSMC's 4nm process technology for both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Gen 3, and the 8s Gen 3 chip is no exception. This architectural consistency allows the chips to deliver good performance comparable to high-end products while maintaining a lower cost.
Looking specifically at the configuration of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (model SM8635), it has the same eight CPU cores as the 8 Gen 3, but they are configured differently. The chip comes with a Cortex X4 main core clocked at 3GHz, which is slightly lower by 300MHz compared to higher-end chips. Instead of using five A720 cores at two different frequencies, it opted for four A720 cores at 2.8GHz, which is lower than the two A720 cores in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Qualcomm has also equipped this new chip with three 2GHz Cortex A520 CPU cores, which are also slightly slower than the flagship class.
In terms of image processing, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 retains the 18-bit Spectra ISP, but doesn't support the 8K video recording feature that the 8 Gen 3 and Gen 2 have. Nonetheless, it still supports up to three rear cameras, and while slow-motion video recording is limited to 1080p 240 fps, that's still a higher resolution than the SD8 Gen 3's 720p 960 fps, just at a lower frame rate. Additionally, the chip's video decoding capabilities are limited to 4K, but it offers support for AV1 and Dolby Vision decoding.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 aligns with the newer 8s Gen 3 in certain key components, particularly in the memory controller and cellular modem. While these components do not perform as well as their counterparts in the 8 Gen 3, the differences do not significantly impact the user experience in day-to-day use.
As an example, the X70 modem that comes with the 8s Gen 3 supports download speeds of up to 5 Gbps, while the newer X75 modem is capable of up to 10 Gbps. However, it's not easy to actually find a 5G network that can come close to these theoretical maximum speeds, so users may not feel a noticeable speed difference in everyday use.
As for the graphics processing unit (GPU), the 8s Gen 3's GPU appears to be directly inherited from the 8 Gen 2. It supports ray tracing technology, but doesn't feature global illumination like the 8 Gen 3. This means that while the 8s Gen 3 is capable of some graphics rendering, it may not be able to fully match the 8 Gen 3's performance in advanced graphics processing. However, for most users, the 8s Gen 3's GPU performance is more than enough to handle everyday gaming and multimedia consumption needs.
Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip will support running AI models with up to 10 billion parameters on the device. However, unlike the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the 8s Gen 3 does not come with the same neural processing unit (NPU). Instead, it uses the digital signal processor (DSP) found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and has no dedicated hardware to support AI processing on the device side.
Despite the hardware differences, Qualcomm's firmware-level optimizations and tweaks enable the 8s Gen 3 to achieve more efficient AI processing capabilities without upgrading the hardware. This software-level innovation delivers a better AI experience for users and more flexibility for device manufacturers.
The first devices powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip are expected to reach consumers later this month. These devices will mainly come from major Chinese phone brands including Honor, Redmi and Xiaomi. While the chip was initially designed for device makers in the Chinese market, it is possible that the 8s Gen 3 will be utilized and rolled out in other markets around the world as well. This will further enrich the diversity of smartphone choices for consumers around the world and promote the widespread use of AI technology in mobile devices.
