Qualcomm is reportedly developing a new variant of its Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, referred to as “Pro” or “Plus,” according to a recent rumor from China. The original Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 was unveiled in April and has since been implemented in seven smartphones as an upper-midrange option.
The rumored “Pro/Plus” version is speculated to be a higher-binned chip featuring overclocked cores, potentially delivering enhanced performance compared to the standard version. Although the exact performance gains remain to be seen, this upgrade is expected to address some of the concerns associated with the standard Snapdragon 8s Gen 4.
The launch date for the new variant is currently unknown; however, Qualcomm is expected to announce it at its annual Snapdragon Summit later this month. The Summit is also anticipated to feature the unveiling of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, marking a significant event in the tech industry.
Concerns have been raised regarding the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4’s heat generation, attributed to the absence of Cortex-A5 efficiency cores. This feature was present in the 8 Gen 2, 8 Gen 3, and 8s Gen 3 chips, all of which are fabricated on a 4nm process. The removal of these cores has been described as a “bad decision,” with the 8s Gen 3, 8 Gen 3, and 8 Gen 2 models remaining popular choices into 2025 due to their power efficiency.
