Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip on Wednesday, marking a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. This new chip promises enhancements in CPU, GPU, and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Unlike its Snapdragon 8 Elite counterpart, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is built using TSMC’s advanced 4nm process technology, positioning it for use in smartphones focused on gaming, with support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing technology. Additionally, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 introduces features for on-device multimodal and multilingual generative AI, as well as improved connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0.
Availability of Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
iQOO has confirmed that its upcoming iQOO Z10 Turbo will be among the first devices to utilize the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip. Other brands, including Meizu, Oppo, and Xiaomi, are also expected to integrate this chipset into their forthcoming smartphones in the near future.
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is anticipated to be a preferred option for mid-range gaming smartphones, providing a more cost-effective alternative to flagship devices powered by Qualcomm’s top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC.
Specifications of Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
Differing from the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is manufactured with TSMC’s 3nm technology, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is built using a 4nm architecture. This chipset features Arm reference cores instead of Qualcomm’s custom Oryon cores. Its configuration includes one Arm Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.2 GHz, three Cortex-A720 cores at 3.0 GHz, two Cortex-A720 cores at 2.8 GHz, and two additional Cortex-A720 cores at 2.0 GHz. The chip supports up to 24GB LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 storage.
Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 features
Photo Credit: Qualcomm
The company asserts that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 offers up to a 31 percent boost in CPU performance compared to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. It also includes an upgraded Adreno 825 GPU that provides support for on-device ray tracing, reportedly achieving a 49 percent increase in GPU performance relative to its predecessor.
Furthermore, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 integrates an enhanced Hexagon NPU, which Qualcomm claims yields up to 44 percent better efficiency in executing AI functions on the device. Like its predecessor, this new chipset is equipped with an 18-bit triple Spectra image signal processor, capable of handling up to three 36-megapixel cameras or a single 320-megapixel camera.
Devices utilizing the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 are capable of supporting WQHD+ displays (3,840×1,600 pixels) with a variable refresh rate spanning from 1Hz to 240Hz. The connectivity features encompass 5G (Sub-6, not mmWave), 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, and NavIC, along with USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support. The chipset is compatible with Quick Charge 5 technology, enabling charging speeds of 100W or higher, a feature initially launched in 2020.
