Abstract
- Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, a midrange chipset with enhancements in efficiency and effectivity.
- The Snapdragon 6-series lineup has been complicated, with a number of launches prior to now yr.
- This new chipset is coming first to future gadgets from Realme, Oppo, and Honor.
It is solely been a couple of months since Qualcomm took the stage in Maui to unveil the Snapdragon 8 Elite, however loads of flagships — together with Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 sequence — are already operating on the model’s newest silicon. In fact, not everybody wants a chipset as highly effective as Qualcomm’s newest, and that is the place as we speak’s announcement is available in. Following up on the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm’s breaking into 2025 with a brand new midrange chipset, and for a couple of cause, it is a fairly stunning launch.
On its face, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 is strictly what you’d anticipate from any SoC destined for sub-flagship gadgets. It is centered on virtually the identical points as another smartphone: spectacular gaming efficiency, improved battery life, and for the primary time on a Snapdragon 6-series chipset, help for on-device AI instruments. Like its predecessor, it is fabricated on a 4nm course of, all whereas promising an 11 % increase to CPU efficiency, 12 % improved effectivity, and a whopping 29 % increase to GPU efficiency. In different phrases, it is a fashionable SoC.
The Snapdragon 6-series is a large number
However this launch may lastly straighten issues out
Supply: Qualcomm
So what makes this specific announcement attention-grabbing? For those who’re as within the weeds as I’m on Qualcomm’s product launches, lots. First, this presumably confirms Qualcomm will proceed to make use of its generational naming construction for merchandise outdoors the flagship 8-series, which moved to “Elite” branding final yr to match the Snapdragon X Elite sequence discovered inside ARM PCs. Second, this chip arrives simply 5 months after the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. Actually, the Snapdragon 6-series has by no means been as complicated as it’s proper now — let me break down why.
Within the final 12 months, we have seen three Snapdragon 6-series chipsets launch. The primary, the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3, adopted 2022’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 1. It arrived in June, however do not let the title or quantity idiot you — it was not a successor to that preliminary Gen 1 launch. With an 6nm TSMC fabrication course of and almost equivalent specs to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695, it led loads of eagle-eyed observers to imagine it was, certainly, a rebranded model of that very 695 chip from 2021, one thing finally confirmed by Qualcomm itself.
Simply a few months later noticed the arrival of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s true successor. Launched with little fanfare forward of Labor Day weekend, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 — that is proper, Gen 3 — seemingly promised to raise the two-year-old Gen 1. However with close to equivalent specs, the one significant adjustments got here from an elevated deal with AI and a slight increase to the clock pace for the 4 important Cortex-A78 cores. Maybe that is why, within the 5 months since that announcement, the one smartphone I can discover utilizing a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is Motorola’s worldwide Moto G75 from October.
Maybe that is the explanation for as we speak’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 announcement. With help for Bluetooth 5.4, a brand new 1x3x4 structure that features a true 2.3Ghz prime core, and help for 144Hz shows, this chip undoubtedly options some actual, significant adjustments. It is simply unlucky that it is taken us two years, together with a number of confusingly-named merchandise, to get right here. It is unclear if any gadgets powered by this SoC will really arrive in North America, however for now, Qualcomm says you’ll be able to maintain a watch out for bulletins from Realme, Oppo, and Honor within the coming months.