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Qualcomm addresses flagship-lite phone market with Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

today (18 March 2024) announced the mobile platform (SD8sG3), designed for flagship-tier Android smartphones that want the Snapdragon 8 series performance without the premium cost. The “s” designation trades out some overly powerful perks on the to keep selected premium performance capabilities intact. This helps make the SD8G3 premium experiences still accessible to a growing market of . As seen in recent phone launches, it’s typically only the highest-end premium devices getting the original Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, like the and the . Phone makers are opting for lower-tiered, or older premium chipsets, for budget flagship and flagship-lite alternatives to their premium flagship models. This is where Qualcomm's new product comes in to satisfy that gap, where these phones can still get near-SD8G3 quality without bearing its hefty cost. Qualcomm said that the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 retains the , so there’s no losing out on the consumer-facing generative AI features that are popping up on recent Android phones. To better understand where the trade-offs are, below is a table showcasing the technical differences between the original Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, along with a quick note where appropriate. Categories or components that are not mentioned would mean no changes between both models. Qualcomm Kyro CPU: 1x 3.4GHz prime core  5x 3.2GHz performance cores 2x 2.3GHz efficiency cores Qualcomm Kyro CPU: 1x 3.0GHz prime core 4x 2.8GHz performance cores 3x 2.0GHz efficiency cores If the above table made no sense to you, that's good news because the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 differences won't matter to you, and most end-users can still enjoy the bits they need. For example, its Qualcomm AI Engine, the support for USB 3.1 Gen 2 via USB-C port, Wi-Fi 7 support (via the FastConnect 7800 component), on-device display support of up to 4K60FPS, and having triple 18-bit ISPs for photography, and even aptX Lossless quality via Bluetooth Audio. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 will be featured on upcoming phones by manufacturers, including Honor, iQoo, Realme, Redmi, and Xiaomi, by March 2024. More OEMs will also implement SD8sG3 at a later time.