Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will come in at least two different variants

Qualcomm, one of the major names in the mobile processor world, will present its new flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in at least two different models.

Leaked documents from Qualcomm's communications with its South Korean partners indicate that the forthcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be available in two distinct variants. The first will be crafted using TSMC’s 4nm process, while the second will utilize TSMC’s 3nm process.

The South Korean blog site gamma0burst first reported on this development, sharing excerpts from the leaked email dialogues between Qualcomm and smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung. According to the disclosed documents, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will harness ARM’s latest Cortex X4, Cortex A720, and Cortex A520 CPU cores for its chipset architecture.

However, the real point of intrigue arises from Qualcomm's mention of two distinct manufacturing processes for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SM8650) SoC. One variant will use TSMC’s 4nm N4P node process, while the other will be crafted with TSMC’s 3nm N3E node process.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will come in at least two different variants

There's some speculation and bewilderment surrounding Qualcomm's decision to produce two separate versions of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, intended for 2024's Android flagship devices. To provide some historical context, the last instance of Qualcomm releasing twin flagship Snapdragon processors with identical CPU configurations was in 2022 with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The primary distinction between them was the manufacturing process. The former was crafted using Samsung’s 4nm process, which faced criticism for its overheating tendencies and subpar power efficiency. On the other hand, the latter, crafted using TSMC’s 4nm process, was hailed for improving power efficiency by up to 30%, all while ensuring cooler device temperatures.

Currently, it's undetermined if the two Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variants produced by TSMC will be branded separately, perhaps as non-Plus and Plus models. Regardless, industry enthusiasts and experts are eager to discern the performance and power efficiency disparities between the two, especially since their CPU combinations mirror each other. The only differential lies in their respective manufacturing processes, akin to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and 8+ Gen 1 versions from 2022.

The tech community anticipates the official unveiling of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile processor next month, specifically on October 24, at the Snapdragon Summit 2023 taking place in Hawaii.