Qualcomm has launched its latest high-end chip for flagship smartphones, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, bringing laptop-class CPU architecture to mobile devices. The new chip features an enhanced version of the Oryon CPU architecture, previously seen in the Snapdragon X Elite chips used in Windows PCs earlier this year.
Snapdragon 8 Elite: Qualcomm’s Next-Gen Chip Delivers 45% Performance Boost
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the successor to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and marks a shift in Qualcomm’s naming convention. Despite this change, the number 8 remains central to its branding. The 8 Elite is powered by a second-generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU, which boasts clock speeds of up to 4.32 GHz, delivering a performance boost of approximately 45% over its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
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One of the key changes in this new chip is the architecture of the CPU cores. Unlike previous versions that featured a mix of large, medium, and small CPU cores, the Snapdragon 8 Elite uses two “Prime” cores for peak performance and six “Performance” cores with a maximum clock speed of 3.53 GHz. The differentiation between these cores is now based on clock speed rather than architecture.
Enhanced GPU and Power Efficiency
In addition to the CPU upgrades, Qualcomm has also enhanced the GPU. The new Adreno 830 GPU offers a 40% performance improvement, and power efficiency for both the CPU and GPU has been significantly boosted—44% for the CPU and 40% for the GPU—largely due to the chip being built on a 3 nm process, compared to the 4 nm process of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Connectivity also sees minor improvements. The Snapdragon 8 Elite comes with the Snapdragon X80 5G modem, supporting up to six antennas, though the top download speed remains capped at 10Gbps. Wi-Fi 7 support remains unchanged from the previous model, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite introduces Bluetooth 6.0, an upgrade from Bluetooth 5.4.
AI capabilities are also a major focus of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Qualcomm’s image signal processor (ISP) is now an “AI ISP,” enabling advanced image recognition and enhancement features such as object removal from photos. The chip’s Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU) is also 45% faster than that of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, providing more robust on-device AI processing.
The Impact of Nuvia Acquisition
The Snapdragon 8 Elite’s CPU architecture has its roots in Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia in 2021, a company founded by former Apple CPU architect Gerard Williams. Originally aimed at server chip development, Nuvia’s expertise aimed towards consumer technology under Qualcomm’s guidance. Phones equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite will release most ptobably in the coming weeks.
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