Qualcomm will be shifting away from the traditional ARM CPU designs later this year when it announces the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in the fourth quarter. There is immense significance surrounding this smartphone chipset for two primary reasons. One is that it will be the first silicon to adopt the company’s custom Oryon cores that Qualcomm announced back in 2022, and these designs would not have been possible without the Nuvia acquisition.
Second, it is the San Diego firm’s first silicon that will reportedly leverage the advanced 3nm process. Here, we discuss all the possible changes arriving to the chipset, its alleged specifications, and its leaked performance capabilities to give you a glimpse of what to expect in the coming months. Here is everything you need to know about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
Switching to TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process will give the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 a new layer of power efficiency
Last year, only Apple introduced a family of 3nm chipsets by using TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm ‘N3B’ node. Unfortunately, due to cost restraints, companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek would have to wait another year to switch to the ‘N3E’ process, which is another variant of the earlier 3nm iteration. However, it is not like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 were any less capable simply because they were fabricated on TSMC’s N4P architecture.
In fact, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s CPU and GPU improvements are what excites us about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 even more, and transitioning to TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process should give Qualcomm sufficient headroom to deliver the same performance while consuming less power. At the same time, we could see the chipset maker raise those power limits to gain an edge in multi-core performance, but not to the point where the company experiences diminishing returns.
Then again, an improved manufacturing process is not the only deciding factor of a smartphone chipset’s performance and power consumption metrics, as the custom CPU designs are also responsible for determining those figures. With Qualcomm ditching ARM’s designs for its own solution, they sport a different name and a varying configuration, as you will soon find out.
Say goodbye to ARM’s Cortex CPU designs and say hello to the brand new ‘Phoenix’ cores
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will do away with any ARM Cortex CPU designs as Qualcomm progresses towards its Oryon cores. However, there is immense confusion about the official name of these custom cores. Though the firm had previously announced that these would be called Oryon, rumors continue to refer to them as Phoenix cores. Irrespective of the name, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will not follow the ‘1 + 3 + 4’ CPU configuration as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Instead, it will adopt a simpler cluster, boasting a ‘2 + 6’ formation, but here is the fun part. According to an earlier rumor, unlike the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is not said to feature any efficiency cores this year, as the entire cluster is said to comprise of performance Phoenix cores that should deliver astounding multi-core performance. This would be the first time Qualcomm has attempted this approach, but if MediaTek succeeded with it, as evidenced by the Dimensity 9300 launch, there is no reason why its rival should fail in the same quest.
While this can mean that the lack of efficiency cores will result in increased power draw, remember that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is reportedly being mass produced on TSMC’s 3nm node, which only means that the improved efficiency of this technology should negate the requirement of low-power cores. Qualcomm is rumored to be testing the upcoming SoC at 4.00GHz, which is significantly higher than the 3.30GHz frequency belonging to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s Cortex-X4.
The clock speed bump will benefit single-core benchmarks, and with all cores running in unison, multi-threaded workloads will become easy pickings for this silicon. We also got to report on some early Geekbench 6 results, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 allegedly running circles around the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with a 46 percent performance difference compared to its predecessor thanks to a multi-core score exceeding 10,000. With these scores, Qualcomm’s first 3nm SoC is not just faster than Apple’s A17 Pro but is competing with the M3 at this point, making it a stunning comparison.
However, the excitement cannot be rushed at this stage because the benchmark leak did not reveal how much power the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 was consuming when it achieved those results, but we will update this information when those statistics arrive. Still, from a first impressions perspective, Qualcomm moving towards custom CPU designs was a decision that the company should have pursued sooner if these are the numbers we are going to get.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 also has a new Adreno GPU, and its capabilities are just as shockingly good as the CPU
Qualcomm is rumored to introduce the Adreno 830 GPU to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, and while the specifications are yet to be detailed, its rumored ability to be faster than Apple’s top-end M2 with a 10-core GPU in 3DMark Wild Life Extreme makes us curious about its graphical capabilities. Only yesterday, it was revealed that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy performs better than the same M2 while consuming considerably less power, but that was in just one benchmark; 3DMark Solar Bay.
If the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy can outperform an Apple Silicon specifically designed for portable Macs and desktops, we can only guess how much more capable the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be. However, it could be a long wait because the first flagship to feature Qualcomm’s latest and greatest SoC is said to be mass produced in September. Even then, we doubt that the handset will be unveiled before the Snapdragon Summit, which is typically held in October and is a dedicated event where Qualcomm’s next chipset is officially unveiled.
However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will invite tons of competition later this year, as MediaTek is preparing its Dimensity 9400, while Apple is said to introduce the A18 and A18 Pro. In short, it will be a 3nm smartphone chipset skirmish of epic proportions, and we cannot wait to share more details with you soon, so stay tuned.
