Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 launched: This mid-range chip that will power a Galaxy device

Qualcomm has already announced the pseudo-flagship Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chipset and the less capable Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. Now, the company is ready to take another step down with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor.

As the name implies, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is the least capable chip of the trio. But it still looks like a solid upgrade over the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 seen in mid-range Android phones like the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion and Redmi Note 13 Pro.

Qualcomm says the new processor’s CPU is 20% faster than the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 CPU. That’s largely due to the new CPU cores, featuring four Cortex-A720 cores and four Cortex-A520 little cores. We’ve got one Cortex-A720 core running at 2.5GHz, three A720 cores at 2.4GHz, and those four little cores clocked at 1.8GHz. Either way, we’re glad to see newer CPU cores in a mid-tier chip.

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 also brings a much faster GPU, claiming a 40% speed boost over the last-generation processor. Qualcomm is also tossing in related features like its Adaptive Performance Engine for improved sustained performance in games, Adreno HDR Fast Blend for faster rendering, and 144Hz refresh rate support at WFHD+ resolution.

There was also a leak that the internal name for the new chip’s GPU was the Adreno 810. This would be a major rejig for the Adreno naming convention and bizarrely suggests a higher positioning than the Snapdragon 8 series. The company refused to confirm the internal name but may have hinted at a reason for a change.

“Regarding naming, the Adreno GPU in Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is simply the next generation of Adreno. It doesn’t mean that it is a premium tier GPU, simply that it’s a new architecture,” a representative told us. This answer suggests that the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 GPU is a new design for the segment but (unsurprisingly) isn’t a flagship-tier part.

What else does the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 offer?

The new processor also brings plenty of AI-related functionality as you’d expect in 2024. Qualcomm claims 30% better AI performance than the previous generation, along with support for “multi-language translation/transcription” and on-device AI models like Llama 2 at one billion parameters.  One notable AI model missing from Qualcomm’s announcement was Gemini Nano.

“We support a wide range of LLMs. We are working with Google towards enabling the next generation of Gemini models for Snapdragon mobile platforms,” the company told us when we asked whether the chip supported Gemini Nano.

The chip also touts two camera-focused AI features in the form of AI Remosaic (a process typically used to produce ultra-high-resolution images) and AI Video Retouch for real-time tone-mapping. Staying with the camera specs, you can expect support for 200MP snapshots, 64MP single capture, up to 21MP+21MP+21MP triple camera capture, and 4K HDR video support. Unfortunately, 4K/60fps support isn’t listed while slow-motion video still tops out at a measly 120fps at 1080p.

Qualcomm also says the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 brings 12% better power savings compared to the previous generation. That’s good news if all you want out of your mid-range phone is a no-frills yet long-lasting device.

Other notable details include a 4nm TSMC design, Bluetooth 5.4, support for various AptX codecs (Adaptive, Lossless, Voice), peak downlink speeds of 2.9Gbps, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ tech, and Wi-Fi 6E.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 will first be adopted by Xiaomi with the first device slated for launch in September. However, the chipmaker added that Realme, Samsung, and Sharp are also working on devices with this chip.

We’re particularly keen to see what Galaxy device uses this mid-range processor. Samsung has typically used Exynos chips in its most prominent Galaxy A phones, but we have seen mid-range Snapdragon chips used in devices like the M and F series. We can’t rule out this chip coming to a cheap Galaxy tablet, either.