Qualcomm’s latest upper-midrange silicon, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, is here, and it sits just under the newly introduced “Elite” tier in the company’s freshly layered mobile chip hierarchy.
As expected, the Gen 4 chip doesn’t feature Qualcomm’s in-house Oryon CPU cores. That distinction is currently reserved for the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Instead, the 8s Gen 4 continues to rely on standard ARM designs, much like its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.
But branding aside, the 8s Gen 4 does bring several platform-level changes that are worth noting. Here’s how it stacks up against the 8s Gen 3.
1. CPU and GPU
The 8s Gen 4 sticks with TMSC’s 4nm node and ARM’s Cortex-CPU and Adreno GPU just like the Gen 3. But there are notable changes under the hood.
The new chip features an octa-core setup led by a Cortex-X4 prime core clocked at 3.2GHz. It’s backed by seven Cortex-A720 cores—three running at 3.0GHz, two at 2.80GHz, and two at 2.02GHz. In contrast, the 8s Gen 3 has a Cortex-X4 at 3.0GHz, four Cortex-A720 cores at 2.8GHz, and three Cortex-A520 cores at 2.0GHz.
As you can notice, the Cortex-A520 cores that handled efficiency in previous generations are nowhere to be found. They are replaced by a full lineup of A720 cores. Paired with a higher-clocked prime core, this delivers 31% better CPU performance than its predecessor while using 39% less power.
On the GPU side, both generations use Adreno, but Qualcomm hasn’t revealed version numbers yet. But it’s a big upgrade as the Adreno GPU here has sliced architecture like the one that debuted on 8 Elite. As a result, Qualcomm is claiming it can deliver a 49% graphical performance boost over the 8s Gen 3 GPU.
You also get support for 8 Elite’s gaming features like Game Super Resolution 2.0 for 4k upscaling and global illumination for hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Gen 3 also has ray tracing but the Frame Motion Engine 2.0 can only double the frame rate from 60fps to 120fps.
2. AI and On-Device Intelligence
Qualcomm has also made some notables changes in NPU on 8s Gen 4. To say the least, its Qualcomm AI Engine is said to improve AI performance by 44%. It has 2x larger shared memory pool that speeds up the user’s interaction with LLMs or LVMs.
It also introduces a dual-core Sensing Hub with always-sensing camera support, which powers use cases like face unlock and QR scanning — similar to the 8s Gen 3.
However, Gen 4’s ISP can now segment up to 250 layers in real-time, a big jump from 12 layers on Gen 3. This could have practical benefits in photo editing, object recognition, and live video processing.
3. Camera and Imaging
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 retains the Triple 18-bit Cognitive ISP from its predecessor. But it now supports photo capture up to 320MP versus 200MP ceiling on Gen 3.
It also doubles 1080p slow-motion recording from 240fps to 480fps and adds a few AI-heavy camera features—like Night Vision 2.0 and real-time sky/skin tone correction for photos and videos.
4. Connectivity
This is one area where Gen 3 retains an edge on paper. It uses the Snapdragon X70 modem with up to 6.5Gbps peak download speeds, while the Gen 4’s integrated 5G modem tops out at 4.2Gbps. The Gen 3 also supports mmWave configurations like 8-carrier aggregation and 2×2 MIMO, making it technically more versatile for high-band 5G use.
Wi-Fi is tied — both chips support Wi-Fi 7 at 5.8Gbps via Qualcomm’s FastConnect system. However, Gen 4 uses Bluetooth 6.0 while Gen 3 still runs on Bluetooth 5.4. The bump to Bluetooth 6.0 may bring better audio stability and lower power usage, though real-world benefits remain to be seen.
5. Audio, Display, and Storage
Both platforms support Snapdragon Sound and spatial audio, including aptX Adaptive and Lossless. But Gen 4 also includes Qualcomm XPAN for broader audio coverage using Wi-Fi.
There are no significant changes in terms of display. Both platforms support WQHD+ displays at 144Hz and external displays up to 4K 60Hz. Storage remains UFS 4.0, and memory is LPDDR5x clocked at 4800MHz.
6. Bottom Line
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 feels like a targeted refinement of its predecessor rather than a generational leap. Its value lies in its more capable AI processing, incremental gaming enhancements, and slightly upgraded connectivity.
But it’s not all forward progress. The chip trades off-peak modem performance compared to the 8s Gen 3, which could matter for users focused on raw network speeds. Still, the 8s Gen 4 is a strong contender for premium Android phones that want advanced features without chasing benchmarks.
7. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 vs 8s Gen 3
| Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | |
| Architecture | 4nm, TSMC | 4nm, TSMC |
| Core configuration | – 1x Cortex-X4 Prime @ 3.2GHz – 3x Cortex-A720 @ 3.0GHz – 2x Cortex-A720 @ 2.80GHz – 2x Cortex-A720 @ 2.02GHz | – 1x Cortex-X4 Prime @ 3.0GHz – 4x Cortex-A720 @ 2.8GHz – 3x Cortex-A520 @ 2.0GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 825 | Adreno 735 |
| NPU | Qualcomm Hexagon AI Engine | Qualcomm Hexagon AI Engine |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Modem | – Snapdragon X75 5G modem – Up to 4.2 Gbps Peak Download – Up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload | – Qualcomm X70 5G – Up to 6.5 Gbps Peak Download – Up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload |
| Connectivity | – Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth 6.0 – UWB | – Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth 5.4 |
| ISP | Spectra 18-bit Triple AI ISP | Spectra 18-bit Triple Cognitive ISP |
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