Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: A Mid-Range Mobile Chip That's Actually Pretty Impressive
Okay, so Qualcomm just dropped a new mobile chip, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 (SM8735), and it's making some serious noise. It's not their top-of-the-line flagship processor, like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but this thing's packing a punch for a mid-range device. Honestly, I was pretty surprised by how much power they squeezed into this little guy. Let's dive into the details and see what the fuss is all about.
Speed, Power, and More Speed
This chip is built using TSMC's 4nm process – that's pretty cutting-edge tech – and it's got an octa-core CPU. That means eight processing cores working together to make things run smoothly. We’re talking one powerful Cortex-X4 core (up to 3.2GHz), three Cortex-A720 cores (3.0GHz), two more Cortex-A720 cores (2.8GHz), and finally, two more Cortex-A720 cores (2.0GHz). Why so many different speeds? It's all about balancing power and efficiency. Qualcomm says it’s 31% faster and 39% more power-efficient than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. That translates to snappier multitasking, quicker app loading, and a battery that lasts longer. Who doesn't want that?
Gaming? It's Got This Covered.
Gamers, listen up! The Adreno 825 GPU is a serious upgrade, boasting a 49% performance boost over the previous generation. We're talking about smoother frame rates, richer visuals, and all the detail you could ever want. Features like on-device ray tracing (seriously cool tech!) and Snapdragon Elite Gaming enhancements will make your favorite games look and play better than ever. Snapdragon Game Super Resolution 2.0 is also included, which further enhances visual fidelity.
AI and Cameras: A Winning Combination
The Hexagon NPU, which handles artificial intelligence tasks, has gotten a significant upgrade too, with a claimed 44% improvement in on-device AI performance. That means faster processing for things like real-time translation and smarter voice assistants. And the camera tech? Impressive. The 18-bit triple ISP supports up to 320MP camera sensors and lets you shoot 4K HDR video at 60fps. Get ready for some seriously stunning photos and videos.
Connectivity and Other Goodies
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 includes the Snapdragon X75 5G modem (sub-6GHz only), giving you download speeds up to 4.2Gbps. You also get Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, UFS 4.0 storage, and LPDDR5X RAM. Plus, Qualcomm's Extended Personal Area Network (XPAN) technology promises improved wireless audio – great news for headphone users!
Where Can You Find It?
The iQOO Z10 Turbo is one of the first phones to use this chip, but we can expect to see it in more phones from brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Meizu soon. This new Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 offers a powerful combination of performance and power efficiency. For a mid-range chip, it's definitely a game-changer.
