Qualcomm has announced a new mid-season Snapdragon chipset to support the current 8 Gen 3. During the launch of the snappily titled Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, its potential for gaming, photography, and on-device generative AI were all highlighted.
In previous years, Qualcomm has offered a mid-cycle Snapdragon 8 Plus model, which takes advantage of recent techniques and capabilities to provide a performance bump heading into the second half of the calendar year. This is not that chipset.
The 8s Gen 3 is pitched slightly below the current Snapdragon 8, sports one less performance core, and runs at a slower speed. It’s clearly targeted towards the tier just below the flagship system-on-chip. Thanks to specs that almost match the top-line hardware but at a more affordable price, it will be perfect for handsets colloquially known as flagship killers.
While some manufacturers prefer to use the previous year’s design in their affordable flagships, the 8s Gen 3 has a clear hardware advantage in one area: artificial intelligence. Like many chip manufacturers, hardware supporting AI has been included in the 8s Gen 3—Qualcomm has stated the 8s Gen 3 supports Llama 2, Baichuan-7B and Gemini Nano LLMs—which in turn will allow the next flagship killers to support the latest AI-focused software found in Android 14 and the various flavors of Android from each manufacturer.
Smartphones supporting the chipset are expected from Honor, iQOO, Realme and Xiaomi in the next few months.
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Alex Mitchell is your go-to expert for all things mobile. With a passion for the latest smartphones, apps, and mobile innovations, Alex provides in-depth reviews, insightful analyses, and breaking news about the ever-evolving world of mobile technology. Stay connected with Alex to navigate the fast-paced realm of mobile devices.
