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Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, a refresh of its low-cost chip that promises significant speedups for AI and other tasks on affordable smartphones.
The just-introduced system-on-chip has a Prime core that runs at a lower 2.5GHz (versus 2.63GHz for the original 7 Gen 3), but is billed as handling AI over 30% faster than its predecessor. That could make budget and mid-tier phones more useful for Meta’s Llama 2 and other large language models that can run on-device.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 should also be more adept for gaming. Qualcomm claims up to 40% faster graphics, and almost 20% faster CPU results. This comes despite 12% lower power consumption.
Xiaomi will be the first company to use the 7s Gen 3, and is expected to unveil its new phone in September. Realme, Samsung, and Sharp are also among those planning to use the new SoC in the months ahead. There haven’t been teases as to what those new devices would entail.
The launch comes as competition is heating up in the mid-range smartphone chip space. MediaTek, the current market leader with 40% share of all SoCs, has been rapidly iterating on its Dimensity 7000-series chips, including the 7350 Pro found in the Nothing Phone 2a Plus.
Qualcomm needs hardware like the 7s Gen 3 to stay competitive, particularly as on-device AI makes its way to a wider range of phones. While the company has a comfortable 23% share and largely dominates the high-end Android segment, its position isn’t guaranteed to last.
