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Qualcomm Developing Two New Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Variants

Back in 2023, Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. This was the fastest and most powerful SoC Qualcomm has released to date. However, it has been succeeded by the Snapdragon 8 Elite in 2024. Now we’re in 2025, and although it seems too early for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, it looks like Qualcomm has two new versions of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the works.

Two new versions of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3?

These new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variants are based on a 6-core CPU design, not the usual 8-core setup we’ve come to expect from Qualcomm’s flagships. That alone is weird. But it gets more interesting when you realize these chips are underclocked. One model tops out at 3.3GHz and the other at 3.0GHz.

This might sound like a downgrade, but these chips are still technically part of the Gen 3 family. In fact, we’ve already seen one of them show up in Geekbench tests inside an unreleased Lenovo tablet. That suggests Qualcomm isn’t just testing these for fun; they have a plan to use them in actual products.

So why is Qualcomm doing this?

The answer might be cost or thermals. Binned chips are chips that don’t meet the original target spec. Rather than throwing them away, Qualcomm could be repackaging them into new SKUs to offer a more affordable product or thermally constrained devices. This includes tablets, mid-premium phones, or maybe even portable gaming handhelds.

With 6-core configurations, manufacturers can still get flagship-level performance without burning through batteries or breaking the bank. That’s a big deal, especially as mobile chip prices are on the rise and TSMC’s advanced node costs keep climbing.

It is possible that Qualcomm might be laying the groundwork for a new tier of flagship “lite” devices. Not every phone or tablet needs to be powered by the most powerful chipset. Furthermore, if these chips can be sold at a lower price, it gives OEMs more flexibility, which means that consumers might have more options for cost-effective phones or tablets.

Qualcomm hasn’t explicitly mentioned which manufacturers will use these new binned chips. However, we could get more details soon, hopefully once the new Lenovo tablet launches.
The post Qualcomm Developing Two New Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Variants appeared first on Android Headlines.

Source: ndroidheadlines.com