Qualcomm recently announced the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, the latest addition to its flagship 8 Gen lineup. It’s an affordable version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, designed to make AI accessible for upper mid-range smartphones. In a recent comparison, we found that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was more powerful than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.
With that out the way, many fans are curious as to how the 8s Gen 3 compares to the 8 Gen 2. To determine if the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, we need to compare the specifications and performance of both chipsets. Let’s delve into the details and find out which one is the better chipset.
Specs Comparison: Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2
| Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | |
| Fabrication Process | TSMC 4nm | TSMC 4nm |
| CPU | Octa-core Kryo CPU 1x 3.0 GHz (Cortex-X4) 4x 2.8 GHz (Cortex-A720) 3x 2.0 GHz (Cortex-A520) | Octa-core Kryo CPU 1x 3.2 GHz (Cortex-X3) 2x 2.8 GHz (Cortex-A715) 2x 2.8 GHz (Cortex-A710) 4x 2.0 GHz (Cortex-A510) |
| GPU | Adreno 735 Hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing | Adreno 740 Hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing |
| NPU | Hexagon NPU Run AI models up to 10B parameters | Hexagon NPU |
| ISP / Camera | Cognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPs Up to 200 MP photo capture or 108 MP ZSL, 64 + 36 ZSL, 3X 36 ZSL 4K HDR video capture at 60 FPS | Cognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPs Up to 200 MP photo capture or 108 MP ZSL, 64 + 36 ZSL, 3X 36 ZSL 4K video at 120 FPS / 8K HDR video at 30 FPS |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LE | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, LE |
| Modem | Snapdragon X70 5G Modem Up to 5 Gbps Peak Download Speed Up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload | Snapdragon X70 5G modem Up to 10 Gbps Peak Download Speed Up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload |
| Memory & Storage | 24 GB LPDDR5X memory up to 4200 MHz UFS 4.0 | 24 GB LPDDR5X memory up to 4200 MHz UFS 4.0 |
| Hardware-accelerated AV1 Decoder Support | Yes | Yes |
| NavIC Support | Yes | Yes |
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2: CPU
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the 8 Gen 2 feature significantly distinct architectures, yet their CPU clock speeds are remarkably similar. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 has a prime Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.0 GHz, four Cortex-A720 performance cores clocked at 2.8 GHz, and three Cortex-A520 efficiency cores clocked at 2.0 GHz.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, on the other hand, features a prime Cortex-X3 core clocked at 3.2 GHz, two Cortex-A715 performance cores clocked at 2.8 GHz, two Cortex-A710 performance cores clocked at 2.8 GHz, and three Cortex-A510 efficiency cores clocked at 2.0 GHz.
Both the chipsets are built on TSMC’s 4nm process node. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 has a total of five performance cores but they are more powerful than the 8 Gen 2’s five performance cores when combined. Despite this difference, the CPU performance on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is better due to the new Cortex cores.
Moreover, both the chipsets support up to 24 GB of LPDDR5X memory clocked at a frequency of 4200 MHz. The storage version is also the same i.e., UFS 4.0. However, the USB transfer speeds on the 8s Gen 3 are faster since it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 as opposed to the 8 Gen 2 which only supports Gen 1.
ALSO READ: Motorola India Teases a New Smartphone with Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC: Might be Edge 50 Fusion
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2: GPU
As for the GPU performance, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 boasts the Adreno 735 GPU while the 8 Gen 2 sports the Adreno 740. The GPU on the 8 Gen 2 is clocked at 680 MHz while the 8s Gen 3’s GPU clock speed is still unknown.
If we look at the naming scheme itself, the 8 Gen 2’s GPU is indeed better than the 8s Gen 3’s. The benchmarks also suggest the same, with the 8 Gen 2 scoring around 600K in the GPU and the 8s Gen 3 scoring 550K.
ALSO READ: Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Specs Comparison Highlighting Differences
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2: NPU
NPU or the Neural Processing Unit on the 8s Gen 3 is significantly superior to that of the 8 Gen 2. Both chipsets have a Hexagon NPU that can run AI models but the 8s Gen 3 excels with its ability to run up to 10 billion parameters enabling Gen AI assistant and Gen AI image generation.
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2: AnTuTu and GeekBench Benchmarks
In terms of performance benchmarks, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and the 8 Gen 2 have been compared using popular benchmarking tools like AnTuTu and GeekBench. The AnTuTu scores reveal that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 achieves a score of 1,846,775, surpassing the 8 Gen 2, which scores 1,537,095.
On the other hand, GeekBench scores paint a slightly different picture. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 achieves a single-core score of 1638 and a multi-core score of 3991, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 boasts a higher single-core score of 2001 and a multi-core score of 5305. These scores suggest that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 might have an edge in terms of raw processing power, particularly in single-core performance.
Note: The AnTuTu and GeekBench scores of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 are based on realme GT Neo 6’s leaked benchmarks.
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2: ISP and Camera
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and the 8 Gen 2, both, have a Triple 18-bit Spectra ISP and Cognitive ISP paired with multiple layers of Semantic Segmentation. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 takes the lead by a bit with support for 4K HDR video at 120fps, 8K HDR video at 30fps, and 720p Slow Motion video at 960fps.
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 can record 4K HDR video at 60fps and 1080p slow-motion video at 240fps. Both chipsets support up to 200 MP photo capture, 108 MP with Zero Shutter Lag (ZSL), 64 MP + 36 MP ZSL, or 3X 36 MP ZSL, and features like Dolby Vision, HDR10+, AV1 decoding, VP9, and H.265.
Both chipsets support displays up to 4K at 60 Hz or QHD+ at 144 Hz. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has the advantage of being able to playback 8K at 60fps videos on the screen. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 offers Snapdragon Low Light Vision (LLV) for capturing better photos and videos in low light, a feature absent in the 8 Gen 2.
Other features such as Bokeh Engine 2 for video capture, Pro Sight video capture, Video Super Resolution, Multi-Frame Noise Reduction (MFNR), and Locally Motion Compensated Temporal Filtering are present in both chipsets.
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2: Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, both chipsets are equipped with FastConnect 7800, which includes the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 standards (5.3 on the 8 Gen 2). Moreover, both support 5G NR Sub-6 GHz and mmWave.
The 5G modem used on both chipsets is also the same—Snapdragon X70. While the upload speed is the same at 3,500 Mbps, the download speeds are different. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 has a maximum download speed of 5,000 Mbps while the 8 Gen 2 doubles that with a maximum speed of 10,000 Mbps.
ALSO READ: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could beat A18 Pro SoC with its latest storage solution
Which One is Better?
If we put the GPU and the ISP aside, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 excels or is on par with the 8 Gen 2 in pretty much every other aspect. If you want to have the latest on-device AI capabilities and a faster, more efficient chip, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is the way to go.
FAQs
1. What is the AnTuTu score of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 8 Gen 2?
The AnTuTu score of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is 1,846,775, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 scores 1,537,095. This indicates that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 outperforms the 8 Gen 2 in overall performance as measured by AnTuTu benchmarks.
2. What is the GeekBench score of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3?
The GeekBench score of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is 1638 in single-core performance and 3991 in multi-core performance. For perspective, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 scores 2001 in single-core performance and 5305 in multi-core performance.
3. Which phones are powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3?
Phones powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip are yet to launch. Some of the phones that have been confirmed include the moto edge 50 Pro, realme GT Neo 6, Xiaomi CIVI 4 Pro, and an unknown Redmi phone.
ALSO READ: Realme Confirms The Processor On The GT Neo 6 SE: Check Details Here
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