Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC launch timeline, features tipped

Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC late last year. The flagship Snapdragon SoC delivers superior performance and offers higher efficiency compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. Moreover, the newfangled processor is based on TSMC's 4nm process.

Now, it looks like Qualcomm could be gearing up to unveil a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 SoC later this year. There is also a possibility that the American semiconductor company might not launch the Plus version of the processor. Instead, Qualcomm could opt to announce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC this year.

The peak clock speed of the customised version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC that powers the Samsung Galaxy S23 series is 3.36GHz. The regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, on the other hand, has a peak clock speed of 3.2GHz. So, it is safe to assume that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC will offer better performance while consuming less power.

Ideally, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC shouldn't see the light of day anytime soon. However, a new report claims that the next-gen flagship SoC from Qualcomm will go official sooner than expected. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC will reportedly make its much-awaited debut in the last quarter of 2023. According to tipster Digital Chat Station (via GizmoChina), the Qualcomm flagship SoC will launch in October 2023.

Furthermore, DCS claims that the new SoC-backed smartphones are slated to launch in Q4 of 2023. Notably, DCS is a reliable Chinese tipster with a reputation for sharing accurate information. Leading smartphone manufacturers including Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi could end up using the next-gen Snapdragon 8 series SoC in their upcoming flagship smartphones.

Regrettably, key details about the purported Qualcomm Gen 3 Snapdragon flagship SoC are still scarce. However, the third-gen Snapdragon 8 series SoC is expected to offer 25 percent better CPU performance compared to the existing Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Also, the Gen 3 version reportedly gained 1,930 points in Geekbench's single-core and 6,236 points in the site's multi-core tests.

The current-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC is very efficient in terms of power consumption. Smartphones under the popular Samsung Galaxy S23 series, OnePlus 11, and the iQOO 11 use this SoC to draw their power. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is available with the power-packed Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC in China. Likewise, the Moto Edge 40 Pro is likely to pack the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC under the hood.