What you need to know
- Reports say the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is dropping next month, with the first devices landing by mid-April.
- Unlike the Snapdragon 8 Elite, this chip sticks with standard ARM cores instead of Qualcomm’s custom Oryon ones.
- The chip is rumored to pack a 3.21GHz Cortex-X4 Prime Core, backed by A720 cores for both power and efficiency.
A new rumor claims that Qualcomm might scrap the “Elite” branding for its next chipset and go with Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead.
According to leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Qualcomm is gearing up to introduce the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 next month (via Notebookcheck). We’ve already got some early specs floating around thanks to recent leaks, giving us a sneak peek at what this chip is packing under the hood.
Keeping up with Qualcomm’s chip lineup isn’t easy, but the flagship series is a bit more straightforward. Qualcomm typically launches a top-tier SoC along with an “s” variant for budget-friendly flagships each year. With the Snapdragon 8 Elite getting some pretty positive market feedback, all eyes are now on the upcoming sub-flagship chipset.
Contrary to earlier speculations, DCS says Qualcomm is ditching the Snapdragon 8s Elite name in favor of Snapdragon 8s Gen 4.
The name change likely comes down to architecture. Unlike the Snapdragon 8 Elite with Qualcomm’s custom Oryon cores, the the 8s Gen 4 is sticking with off-the-shelf ARM designs.
Power and efficiency mix
According to DCS, the chip, designed as SN8735, will pack a 3.21GHz Cortex-X4 Prime Core, backed by three 3.01GHz Cortex-A720 cores and two 2.80GHz Cortex-A720 cores for heavy lifting. For better efficiency, it’s expected to also include two 2.02GHz Cortex-A720 cores.
On the graphics front, the new chip is expected to rock an Adreno 825 GPU. They’re from the same next-gen family, but leaks suggest Qualcomm might be trimming down the core size a bit. This means you’ll still get great mobile gaming performance; just don’t expect it to quite match the absolute top-tier 8 Elite’s graphical muscle.
In a separate Weibo post, the leaker says the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 will use the same ISP as the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Plus, at least four Android phones are already in the works with this chip, including the Redmi Turbo 4 Pro, iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro, Xiaomi Civi 5 Pro, and Oppo K13 Pro.
Reports suggest Qualcomm will launch the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 in April.