Qualcomm has unveiled its latest midrange chipset for mobile devices, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. While the naming may suggest it’s a direct successor to either the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 or Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, the new chip actually slots in between these two SoCs.
Manufacturing Process
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is fabricated on TSMC’s 4nm process technology and features a 1+3+4 CPU architecture. The Kryo CPU boasts a prime core clocked at 2.63GHz, accompanied by three performance cores running at 2.4GHz and four efficiency cores operating at 1.8GHz.
Performance
Qualcomm claims a notable 15% improvement in CPU performance and a significant 50% faster Adreno GPU compared to last year’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip. Additionally, the 7 Gen 3 chip is touted to deliver 20% power savings based on Qualcomm’s internal testing.
The Qualcomm Hexagon NPU embedded within the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 should deliver a remarkable 60% faster AI performance per watt compared to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. The Adreno GPU supports OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 FP, and Vulkan 1.3 APIs.
The new Qualcomm chip also brings support for up to 4K resolution displays at a 60Hz refresh rate or FHD+ resolution at a smooth 168Hz. It is equipped with a Qualcomm Spectra ISP that can handle up to 200MP main camera modules and record 4K HDR video at 60Hz.
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is paired with the Snapdragon X63 5G Modem-RF System, ensuring up to 5 Gbps download speeds over both mmWave and sub-6 GHz bands. The connectivity suite also includes support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 standards.
Available devices
The first devices powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 are expected to hit the market later this month, with Honor and vivo among the key OEMs set to adopt the new chip.
