Qualcomm has recently unveiled its latest flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, during the Snapdragon Summit 2024 held in Maui, Hawaii. The company claims that this SoC will revolutionize the mobile device landscape, offering unprecedented experiences across various domains, including CPU and GPU performance, Generative AI, as well as improvements in power efficiency, camera capabilities, and audio and connectivity features.
Not Snapdragon 8 Gen 4
Interestingly, Qualcomm has opted not to label this new SoC as Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Instead, the name “Elite” is said to more accurately reflect the SoC’s position in the market. Additionally, Qualcomm typically revises the naming convention of its SoCs whenever there is a significant architectural shift in the CPU.
Snapdragon 8 Elite: Featuring 2nd Gen Oryon CPU
A major architectural change introduced with this SoC is the integration of Qualcomm’s Oryon CPU cores. Previously utilized in the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus designed for laptops, the second generation of Oryon cores is now being adapted for smartphones and tablets.
Qualcomm has promised a remarkable performance boost, claiming this SoC will deliver the fastest mobile experience for Android devices. Compared to the CPU in Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, they are pledging up to a 45% increase in both single-core and multi-core performance, along with more than 40% improvement in power efficiency.
Notably, Qualcomm has revealed that the prime core in this CPU can reach impressive clock speeds of up to 4.32 GHz, while the performance cores can achieve up to 3.53 GHz. This marks a significant enhancement compared to the previous generation, where prime cores typically hovered around 3 GHz, with performance cores below that threshold.
Enhanced AI Capabilities
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is equipped with advanced multimodal Generative AI capabilities. This is not solely due to the faster CPU, but also thanks to the significantly improved Hexagon NPU. Qualcomm asserts that there is a 45% increase in AI performance, with a corresponding 45% enhancement in performance per watt.
Furthermore, AI is being increasingly utilized in camera technology. Qualcomm refers to the ISP in this SoC as an AI ISP, which is designed to work more closely with the Hexagon NPU for various camera functionalities. This integration is termed Hexagon Direct Link.
Gaming Enhancements
The Adreno GPU in the Snapdragon 8 Elite boasts a 40% performance increase, particularly in graphically demanding games. There is also a 40% reduction in power consumption and a 35% boost in ray tracing performance. These improvements are made possible by a complete redesign of the Adreno architecture for this new SoC.
However, performance isn’t the only aspect that has been enhanced. Qualcomm promises support for Nanite in Unreal Engine 5.3, enabling a more immersive gaming experience. This is the first time such support will be available on mobile devices.
Additionally, support for Unreal’s Chaos Physics Engine allows for more realistic interactions. Qualcomm also introduces the Adaptive Performance Engine 4.0 for better efficiency while gaming, along with the Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0 for higher frame rates without excessive power usage.
Coming Soon: Xiaomi Promises New Smartphone
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is set to include a 5G modem with Snapdragon X80, alongside modern connectivity features with FastConnect 7900. In addition to Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 is among the enhanced modern connectivity options promised. Improvements in music streaming via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will also be available, provided the devices support these technologies.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is expected to roll out in various new mobile devices from multiple brands. Qualcomm has indicated that ASUS, iQOO, OPPO, realme, Samsung, and vivo are among the manufacturers preparing to launch products soon. Xiaomi has already announced that the Xiaomi 15 Series will be unveiled shortly, featuring this new 3nm SoC.
