Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Could Revolutionise Flagship Smartphones with 4GHz Clockspeed

Highlights

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 rumoured to feature proprietary CPU cores, breaking from tradition.
• Anticipated Adreno 830 GPU could lead to unparalleled gaming and graphics performance.
• Speculated use of TSMC’s 3nm process hints at significant speed and efficiency gains.
• Expected to empower next-gen flagships like the Galaxy S25 Ultra with cutting-edge technology by late 2024.

Qualcomm’s anticipated unveiling of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, expected in October, marks a significant leap in mobile processing technology.

The upcoming chip, codenamed “Tongzi,” is being touted to skyrocket performance expectations in flagship smartphones, potentially including the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

“We’re proud to continue working alongside Samsung to lead this new era for the mobile industry and provide consumers with extraordinary premium experiences,” said Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of mobile handset, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy instills its advanced AI capabilities in the Galaxy S24 series, to enable new experiences with AI features to empower users’ everyday life.

It also fuels advanced professional-quality camera, gaming experiences and ultra-fast connectivity including Wi-Fi 71, plus offers one of the most reliable authentication solutions available with our Qualcomm® 3D Sonic Gen 2 technology.”

“Our strategic partnership with Qualcomm Technologies spans more than two decades, which speaks volumes to our strong relationship,” said Inkang Song, VP & Head of Technology Strategy team at Samsung Mobile.

“They are at the forefront of the mobile industry, and now of on-device intelligence – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy sets the bar for premium mobile and Gen AI experiences.

With the flagship Galaxy S24 series, Qualcomm and Samsung will provide consumers with the most premium and advanced mobile experiences to date, with Galaxy AI.”

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: Possible Architecture

The Snapdragon 8 gen 4 is likely going to use Qualcomm’s proprietary CPU cores, a departure from the Arm Cortex cores used in previous iterations.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is rumoured to eliminate traditional low-power efficiency cores in favor of a configuration featuring two high-performance “Phoenix” cores alongside six medium-performance counterparts.

This was something even MediaTek did quite recently with the Dimensity 9300 SoC.

Notably, as per a leak from Digital Chat Station, the processor is speculated to achieve clock speeds up to 4GHz, surpassing the peak 3.3GHz clock speeds of its predecessors’ Cortex-X4 Prime CPU cores.

This theoretical limit is going to be very useful especially now with the advent of on-device generative AI capabilities.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 4: GPU and Benchmarking

Further enhancing its capabilities, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to integrate the Adreno 830 GPU, promising substantial improvements in graphics rendering and gaming experiences.

The chip’s construction utilizes TSMC’s advanced 3nm process technology, contributing to its impressive performance metrics, including a standout multi-core Geekbench score that significantly outperforms the previous generation’s benchmarks.

Qualcomm’s chipset evolution reflects a broader industry trend towards custom core designs, aiming to provide optimized performance and power efficiency tailored to the diverse demands of modern mobile devices.

This shift also shows how competitive the landscape in semiconductor manufacturing actually is, with Qualcomm considering a split in production for its Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip between TSMC and Samsung Foundry, the latter having improved its yield rates.

As Qualcomm continues to innovate within the mobile processor space, the industry awaits the real-world impact of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s advanced features on smartphone performance, user experience, and the competitive dynamics among chipset manufacturers.

We should start seeing devices shipping with Qualcomm’s upcoming flagship SoC in late 2024.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Specs

GENERAL

DISPLAY

MEMORY

CONNECTIVITY

EXTRA

CAMERA

TECHNICAL

MULTIMEDIA

BATTERY

FAQs

What are the rumours about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4?

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, codenamed “Tongzi,” is rumored to be Qualcomm’s next leap in mobile processing, potentially utilizing proprietary CPU cores and offering clock speeds up to 4GHz, a significant departure from its predecessors.

How might the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 change the game for smartphone performance?

With speculation around its unique core configuration and the integration of an Adreno 830 GPU, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to deliver superior performance, especially in graphics-intensive applications and on-device AI processing.

What technology is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 rumoured to use?

Rumours suggest the chip will be manufactured using TSMC’s advanced 3nm process technology, promising enhancements in power efficiency and performance metrics over the previous generation.

When are devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 rumoured to launch?

While still speculative, the industry anticipates that smartphones equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, including potential models like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, could hit the market by late 2024.

What design changes can we expect in the Samsung Galaxy S25 series?

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series, under the guidance of Ilhwan Lee from the MX Design Team, is expected to undergo a significant design refresh. This change is anticipated to bring more innovative and possibly luxury-inspired aesthetics to the flagship series.

Are there any rumors about the camera specifications of the Galaxy S25 Ultra?

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is rumoured to feature a 200MP primary camera with a new 1-inch image sensor, 0.8µm pixels, dual-pixel autofocus, and in-sensor crop zoom, potentially setting a new standard for smartphone photography.

When is the Samsung Galaxy S25 series expected to launch?

While the exact launch date is not confirmed, Samsung is considering releasing the Galaxy S25 series earlier than usual, potentially around December 2024, following the earlier launch of the Galaxy S24 series in January 2024.

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