Qualcomm just launched a new chipset with a design that’s slightly lower than its current flagships in terms of features and price. Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 aims to bring most of the features of 8 Gen 3, including support for on-device generation of AI models, into a more affordable phone. It represents a new level of top-tier 8-series chips, but it’s also a bit confusing.
Before we get into that, let’s start with something simple: the 8S Gen 3 includes a similar GPU to the standard 8 Gen 3, although it has one less performance core and runs at a lower frequency – the main core runs at up to 3.0GHz vs. Compared to 3.4GHz on 8 Gen 3. The new 8S Gen 3 also uses the previous generation modem X70 5G, which includes Wi-Fi 7 support. It also supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing so realistic games run smoother, which seems to be the benchmark for flagship phones today.
And, of course, artificial intelligence. 8S Gen 3 supports multi-modal generative AI on the device and can run large language models with up to 10 billion parameters, including Llama 2 and Gemini Nano. It doesn’t offer all of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s AI features, but it does support the gen AI virtual assistant and image augmentation.
Deepu John, senior director of product management at Qualcomm, explained that each Snapdragon tier can be divided into three subcategories. There are Snapdragon 8, 7, 6, and 4 series chipsets, with up to three different offerings among them. This “S” series chip sits below the standard 8 Gen 3, and if Qualcomm releases the 8 Plus Gen 3, it will be on top.
knew? Great, it gets even more confusing when you remember that phone makers are still using 2022 flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in non-flagship phones like the OnePlus 12R. There’s also the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, just behind the 8S Gen 3, although it only appears in a handful of phones. Qualcomm seems to be slicing the premium phone market very thin, perhaps to discourage OEMs from turning to MediaTek for their non-flagship devices.
Regardless, the 8S Gen 3 should start showing up on the market soon, albeit not in devices that will be readily available in the United States. Honor, iQOO, Realme, Redmi and Xiaomi have all said they will use the platform and expect to launch new devices “in the coming months”.
