It typically takes Qualcomm several months before announcing the Snapdragon Summit, where it will unveil its top-tier chipset that will power the premium smartphones that will arrive the following year. However, things were outright different on this occasion, as the company CMO put out a video stating that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which will be the San Diego firm’s first silicon to launch with proper in-house Oryon cores, will be announced in October.
No vital specifications details of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 were shared in the video
The Chief Marketing Officer of Qualcomm, Don McGuire, made the surprise revelation during Mobile World Congress, where he posted a video below through X on the @Snapdragon_UK official account, saying that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 would be unveiled in October. The two-minute video does not provide anything else other than the launch month, but that does not mean that we have not collected valuable information ourselves.
Unlike Qualcomm’s earlier high-end smartphone chipsets, this year’s version will shift away from ARM’s CPU designs, adopting what tipsters are calling ‘Phoenix’ cores, but here is the interesting bit. Just like the Dimensity 9300, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is expected to forego any efficiency cores, sporting an all-performance CPU cluster that will likely be designed to deliver unrivaled multi-core performance while touting incredible efficiency thanks to being mass produced on TSMC’s second-generation 3m process, also known as ‘N3E.’
❗️Calling all Snapdragon Insiders…
CMO @donnymac is in Europe this week for #MWC24 and has a special message – and some secret intel – just for you 🕵 pic.twitter.com/RBsBvytRlo
— Snapdragon UK (@Snapdragon_UK) February 28, 2024
While consumers purchasing Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 flagships are expected to be in for a treat, Qualcomm’s partners may not receive the same treatment. After all, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 estimated to cost $200, one Qualcomm executive has hinted that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be the most expensive smartphone chipset the company has ever made, primarily thanks to those custom Oryon cores. This will force phone makers to either sell their premium offerings while up-charging customers or sacrifice their margins in a bid to ship more units. In any case, Qualcomm appears to be the one walking happily to the bank.
If you want to learn more about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, there is adequate information in our rumor roundup, so we recommend checking that out if you want a proper overview of Qualcomm’s first 3nm chipset. It will be an exciting year as far as smartphone silicon goes, and as always, we will be sharing updates every step of the way.
News Source: @Snapdragon_UK