Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Shows Promising Performance in Leaked Benchmarks
Qualcomm's upcoming flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, is generating buzz in the tech world with recently leaked benchmark results. Set to debut in the coming months, this next-generation System-on-Chip (SoC) is showing impressive performance gains that could potentially surpass Apple's current A17 Pro Bionic chip.
Custom Cores Make a Comeback
One of the most significant changes in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is Qualcomm's return to custom CPU cores. After years of using standard ARM designs, the company is implementing its own CPU architecture, known as Oryon. This move is expected to deliver both high performance and energy efficiency.
Benchmark Results
The alleged Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 appeared on Geekbench under a generic Manufacturer Model name. Here's how it performed:
- Single-core score: 2,884 points
- Multi-core score: 8,840 points
These results put the new Snapdragon chip neck-and-neck with Apple's A17 Pro in single-core performance, while significantly outpacing it in multi-core tests.
Performance Gains
Compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the new chip shows substantial improvements:
- Multi-core performance: ~30% increase
- Single-core performance: ~35% increase
It's worth noting that these early benchmarks may be from pre-production samples, leaving room for even further optimization.
CPU and GPU Expectations
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is rumored to feature a 2+6 core configuration:
- 2 high-performance cores clocked at 4.09 GHz
- 6 efficiency cores clocked at 2.78 GHz
On the graphics front, the chip is expected to include an Adreno 830 GPU. Given that the current Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's GPU already outperforms Apple's offering, the gap could widen further with this new generation.
Manufacturing Process
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is reportedly being manufactured on TSMC's 3nm process, which should contribute to its improved performance and efficiency.
Looking Ahead
While these early results are promising for Qualcomm, it's important to remember that Apple is also working on its next-generation A18 Bionic chip. However, rumors suggest that the A18's CPU improvements over the A17 Pro may be modest, potentially giving Qualcomm an edge in the upcoming mobile chip race.
As we approach the official release of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, likely in October, more concrete details and real-world performance metrics will become available. For now, these leaked benchmarks offer an exciting glimpse into the future of mobile computing power.