Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, a chip that brings just slightly less performance than the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, a few days ago. That chip is perfect for flagship killer phones that want to undercut on price but nearly match performance, but what about higher mid-tier phones?
That's where the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, announced today, comes in. This chip brings substantial improvements over the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 and sets a good mark for the Snapdragon 7 chips, as it is the first one to come with on-device generative AI support.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 Comes With AI And More Power
The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 is a step above the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and provides the most power you can currently get from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 series chip. This makes it the perfect option for the highest mid-range levels.
The 4nm chip is octa-core, with one prime Cortex-X4 core, four performance cores, and three efficiency cores. Qualcomm says you'll get 15% more performance and 5% more efficiency. The GPU gets significantly better, with a 45% boost in performance, which is excellent news for gamers.
However, the standout feature of this chip might be that just like the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 that was announced a few days ago, it now has on-chip support for large language models like Llama 2, Gemini Nano, and Baichuan-7B, making it the only SoC in the Snapdragon 7 series with these bragging rights. Since AI is such a big thing for smartphone manufacturers right now, you can expect better performance when it comes to AI-infused features like photo editing, virtual assistants, summarization and transcription, and so on.
The modem is the Snapdragon X63 , which brings 5G and LTE networking, while the Fast Connect 7800 solution brings supports for Wi-Fi 7 — again, another first for the 7 series. You'll also get some perks with photography as Qualcomm's 18-bit triple cognitive ISP comes to the chip.
A Few Notable Manufacturers Are Expected To Use The Chip In Upcoming Devices
The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 sounds like a very solid chip on paper. It won't cost as much as the 8 series SoCs, but it will still deliver excellent performance. Multiple companies have already seen the light regarding the 7+ Gen 3 and are expected to launch devices with the chip soon.
For instance, there's OnePlus, which is expected to launch the China-only OnePlus Ace 3V today. This phone has been rumored to be carrying the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (which should eventually come to the internationally launched OnePlus Nord 4). However, Realme and Sharp are also on the list of expected companies.
Sharp is an interesting name to see on the list at such an early point, but yes, they still make a handful of smartphones every year. They don't get much buzz, though, because I genuinely can't remember the last time that I organically heard about a Sharp Aquos device. I'll be looking forward to seeing their 7+ powered phone, though!
