Qualcomm made waves by launching the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 a few months back. And why would it not? That processor came with a flagship-esque architecture and on-device generative AI. Now, the American foundry is adding another such chipset to its catalogue, but with lesser firepower. Here, we will discuss the newly launched Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 in further detail and what it brings to the board.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Overview
Similar to how the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 slots right under the 2024 flagship offering, the 7s Gen 3 sits under the regular 7 Gen 3 in terms of raw power. However, the fresh silicon has a few tricks up its sleeve.
On-device AI
One of the main highlights of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is that it comes with on-device AI. Previously, this feature was limited to flagship processors only. However, 7+ Gen 3 introduced it to the premium midrange and this processor is expanding it further to more affordable space.
Anyhoo, Qualcomm says that this chipset allows for multi-language translation and transcription. It could see something like the “Live Translate” feature we saw with Galaxy AI. Furthermore, this dedicated NPU apparently requires less power to operate, which would help preserve the daily endurance of the phones.
Architecture
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 comes in 4nm fabrication and has eight cores. The most interesting thing about its architecture is that it packs a prime core just like its higher sibling. Qualcomm does not specify clearly if the prime core is Cortex-X4 or Cortex-720.
Either way, it will be much more efficient than its new cores despite peaking at 2.5GHz, which is less than the base 7 Gen 3. Other than that, there are three performance cores and four efficiency cores clocking at 2.4GHz, and 1.8GHz respectively.
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Hardware and other supports
Firstly, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is equipped with the Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF system and supports 5GmmWave and sub-6GHz cellular networks. With this, it can hit downlink speeds of up to 2.9 Gbps. Likewise, it offers tri-band WiFi 6E and Bluetooth v5.4 for further wireless connectivity. In terms of cameras, this chip can work with up to 200MP single shooter. If we are looking at camera support with zero shutter lag, it can go with either a single 64MP@30FPS or up to three 21MP units @30FPS.
Similarly, you can put displays with up to FHD+ resolution and 144Hz refresh rate on phones running on Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. It can also support a 4K@60Hz external display. In terms of memory and storage, it supports LPDRR5@3,200MHz as well as LPDRR4X@2,133MHz RAM with a maximum capacity of 16GB. Meanwhile, for storage, it comes with UFS 3.1 which can go up to 1TB. It also supports a USB 3.1 Type-C port with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ charging protocol. Lastly, it can work with six satellites and triple-frequency for navigation.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Availability
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 was made public on 20 August 2024, and we won’t have to wait much longer for it to hit the market. With the intent to “bring remarkable AI experiences to more affordable smartphones”, we can expect this chip to go on midrange phones.
A Xiaomi device is apparently ready to be announced with the processor in September — supposedly the Redmi Note 14 Pro. The details of the phone are yet unknown, but we can expect some leaks and rumours to surface shortly. After that, Samsung, Realme, and Sharp are in line to power their phones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3.
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