Qualcomm is gearing up to release its next flagship mobile processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. This iteration is expected to deliver significant performance and efficiency gains, thanks to custom-designed Oryon cores and TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process node.
However, a fresh leak suggests a mixed bag of results — the Adreno 750 GPU in the 8 Gen 4 will offer impressive performance-per-watt gains, while the CPU performance appears to be more incremental.
According to an X (formerly Twitter) user @negativeonehero, the internal testing of the 8 Gen 4’s GPU achieves peak performance similar to that of the MediaTek Dimensity 9300’s GPU, but at half the power consumption. This could translate to longer battery life and cooler running phones for demanding tasks like gaming.
On the CPU side, the outlook is less optimistic. The leak claims that Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, with its custom Oryon cores, delivers a multi-core score of around 7,300 at just 8W.
This performance is roughly on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 which falls behind Apple’s A17 Pro in iPhone 15 Pro in the performance chart. More concerningly, the tipster suggests it will only be a single-digit percentage improvement in 8 Gen 4’s CPU power efficiency compared to the current generation.
As a result, the tipster suggests that Android flagship phone buyers who prioritize CPU performance should wait for the next generation of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
However, it’s worth noting that Qualcomm’s custom cores in the Snapdragon X Elite for Windows laptops delivered impressive results, matching Apple’s M3 in benchmarks despite initial skepticism. So we are expecting similar results from the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
Nonetheless, balancing thermals, power consumption, and raw performance within the constraints of a smartphone is a challenge in itself. Ultimately, the true capabilities of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will become clear with independent testing and real-world usage.
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