On October 25th, Qualcomm unveiled its latest generation of flagship smartphone and mobile platform processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Since it's still named Snapdragon 8, savvy individuals probably already have an idea that the main architecture of this processor core won't differ significantly from Gen 2.
Otherwise, they would have likely named it Snapdragon 9, right?
Although it's not a completely new overhaul, I am quite curious about this new processor.
After all, this Gen 3 processor is undoubtedly going to be the core processor used in top Android phones for the next year.
Barring any surprises, the next generation of the ROG Phone will undoubtedly also use this Gen 3 processor, possibly even a special version of Gen 3.
Here is some information about Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Gen 2 for your reference:
Official Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 page
Specifications of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 compiled by MSPoweruser
Processor clock speed and L3 cache improvements
⇧ This is the cores of the Gen 3 processor.
⇧ This is the cores of the Gen 2 processor.
The size and total number of processor cores remain the same at eight, but the number of Performance cores has increased to 5, and the number of Efficiency cores has decreased to 2.
The clock speed of both big and small cores has been increased.
Typically, even if the core architecture remains the same, increasing the processor's clock speed can effectively improve computational efficiency.
L3 Cache has been increased from 8MB to 12MB.
Expanding the cache allows the cores to have more space for assistance during computations.
In theory, having a larger cache should reduce memory latency and improve the efficiency of processing large datasets.
The graphics processor is still named Adreno GPU, and Qualcomm claims that this new GPU offers a 25% increase in performance and 25% improved energy efficiency.
Here are some interesting upgrades that I'd like to highlight:
Support for Ray Tracing
The graphics processor in Gen 3 can support Unreal Engine 5's Lumen real-time global illumination and ray tracing effects.
You might think, "What's so special about this? Ray tracing effects have been available on PCs for a while."
I believe this is something to look forward to.
With mobile processors supporting ray tracing technology for the Unreal Engine 5, we can expect more applications of advanced graphical rendering effects in mobile games in the future. This is undoubtedly a positive development.
Minimum 1Hz Screen Refresh Rate
A "1Hz" screen refresh rate likely has a variety of potential applications, but the specific use cases for this 1Hz rate are not yet clear.
Assuming it can be extensively used when the phone screen is static and allows the screen refresh rate to be adjusted between 240Hz and 1Hz, it should greatly benefit the battery life of mobile phones.
While this technology may not be directly related to gaming,
but...... having some extra power saved for playing games certainly sounds like a good idea, right?
Support for 240FPS Display Output
First, it's essential to clarify that this "FPS" refers not to the screen's own refresh rate (Hz).
Here, "FPS" stands for the number of frames the graphics processor outputs to the screen per second.
With this Gen 3 processor, it can support higher game frame rates, promising smoother and more responsive visuals.
Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0
I'm not entirely clear on this technology yet, and I welcome your comments and discussion.
Qualcomm describes this new technology as the "Next generation highly optimized frame generation algorithm."
My understanding is that the new graphics processor can automatically interpolate frames through an algorithm, with a maximum interpolation limit of 120FPS.
If a game originally computes fewer than 120FPS, the AFME 2.0 technology can generate additional transitional frames, resulting in smoother transitions between each frame.
At the moment, it's uncertain how the new Adreno GPU will utilize AFME 2.0, and the specific conditions that trigger this technology are also unknown.
The above are some of the new technologies that the author believes Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will bring to enhance the gaming experience in the future.
In terms of audio, there also seem to be some new features, with MSPoweruser mentioning "Spatial audio with head-tracking."
Some news reports have mentioned further collaboration between Qualcomm and Dolby, suggesting potential improvements in screen color performance.
Whether these technologies can be flexibly utilized by various manufacturers remains uncertain.
The hardware presentation is more like setting expectations for the future. If the hardware can support or provide these technologies, it means that we may enjoy them in the future.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming smartphones that will feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, especially the ROG Phone!
