Qualcomm officially launched the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, its latest chipset designed for the mid-range smartphone market, very recently. But despite its name, it is important to note that this chipset is being launched in the same year as the Snapdragon 7+ Gen2 that made its debut earlier this year, technically making it more of a sibling, rather than a successor.
Specs-wise, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is based on a 4nm process node and features an 8-core Kryo CPU running in a 1+3+4 configuration. Specifically, that’s one Cortex-A715 core running at 2.63GHz, three Cortex-A715 performance cores at 2.4GHz, and four Cortex-A510 efficiency cores at 1.8GHz. It’s also got a new Adreno GPU but the mobile chipmaker doesn’t specify the model on its official data sheet, but that it is supposedly 50% faster than its predecessor. By that last part, we mean the Snapdragon 7 Gen1, and not the 7+ Gen 2.
“The upgraded platform delivers across-the-board advancements to ignite on-device AI, fan-favorite mobile gaming, a creativity-charged camera and powerful 5G connectivity. The new platform is fully equipped to enable exciting new use-cases including up to 2.63GHz peak CPU speeds, over 50% faster GPU performance, and 60% improved AI performance per watt while still delivering incredible power efficiency.”
Qualcomm has also improved the camera support with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. With the new Qualcomm Spectra triple 12-bit ISP, the chipset is able to support eiter a triple 21MP camera setup, a 32MP+21MP dual camera configuration, or a 64MP camera with up to 200MP photo capture.
As for other features, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 also supports spatial audio with head tracking, which is actually a first for the series. Of course, the chipset also has a new and improved Qualcomm AI Engine. Beyond that, you get many of the expected features afforded to modern chipset – Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, a Snapdragon X63 5G modem-RF system, and of course, support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 5.
Qualcomm says that both HONOR and vivo are slated to become the first brands to announced new devices powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 later in the month.
