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Snapdragon SoC guide: All of Qualcomm's smartphone processors explained

From entry-level to cutting-edge, we break down all the major Snapdragon processors.
By
November 9, 2023
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip in hand
Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors are among the most ubiquitous SoCs in the Android smartphone space. Samsung uses Snapdragon for its Galaxy S line in various markets, but these chips also power the vast majority of flagship Android phones on the market. There’s a good chance that you’re reading this on a device using a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor right now.

Snapdragon chips aren’t just found in expensive flagship smartphones though. There’s a whole portfolio of processors built for handsets at various price points. Performance and features differ a fair bit between these models, so let’s break down how the company’s latest SoCs compare and what capabilities you should expect.

Snapdragon 8 series — Premium tier

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 dummy chip.
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

Looking for the very best Qualcomm smartphone processor family? That will be the Snapdragon 8 range. The latest chip is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was announced in October 2023. It’s a brand-new release that’s only appeared in the Xiaomi 14 series as of writing. But it’s expected to power a ton of flagship phones in 2024.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 brings a host of upgrades. For one, it packs a super-powerful CPU on paper. This is a 1+5+2 CPU consisting of one Cortex-X4 core, five Cortex-A720 cores, and two Cortex-A520 cores. In fact, Qualcomm says it’s 30% faster than its predecessor while being 20% more efficient.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is built with on-device generative AI tasks in mind.

Qualcomm is also going all-in on generative AI capabilities this time out, offering text-to-image generation in under a second, photo expansion capabilities (using image generation to expand the borders of an image), and support for large language models with over 10 billion parameters running at close to 15 tokens per second. In plain English, this is an AI powerhouse.

Other upgrades worth knowing include an Adreno GPU that’s 25% faster and 25% more efficient, support for global illumination graphics tech, night mode video support, and video object eraser capabilities.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Snapdragon 8 Gen 2Snapdragon 8 Gen 1Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
CPU Config
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
1x 3.3GHz (Cortex-X4)
3x 3.2GHz (Cortex-A720)
2x 3GHz (Cortex-A720)
2x 2.3GHz (Cortex-A520 Refresh)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
1x 3.19GHz (Cortex-X3)
2x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A715)
2x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A710)
3x 2.0GHz (Cortex-A510)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
1x 3GHz (Cortex-X2)
3x 2.5GHz (Cortex-A710)
4x 1.8GHz (Cortex-A510)
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
1x 3.2GHz (Cortex-X2)
3x 2.5GHz (Cortex-A710)
4x 1.8GHz (Cortex-A510)
GPU
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Adreno
(ray tracing support)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Adreno 740
(ray tracing support)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Adreno 730
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
Adreno 730
DSP
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Hexagon
(fused scalar, tensor, and vector)
Mixed precision INT8/INT16
INT4 support
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Hexagon
(fused scalar, tensor, and vector)
Mixed precision INT8/INT16
INT4 support
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Hexagon
(fused scalar, tensor, and vector)
Mixed precision
INT8/INT16
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
Hexagon
(fused scalar, tensor, and vector)
Mixed precision
INT8/INT16
RAM support
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
LPDDR5X
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
LPDDR5X
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
LPDDR5
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
LPDDR5
Camera support
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 200MP single shot
• 108MP single with zero shutter lag
• 64MP+36MP with zero shutter lag
• Triple 36MP with zero shutter lag
• Hybrid AF
• 10-bit HEIF image capture
• HDR video
• Dolby HDR photo
• Multi-frame noise reduction
• Real-time semantic segmentation for photos and videos (up to 12 layers)
• Video super resolution
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• 200MP single shot
• 108MP single with zero shutter lag
• 64MP+36MP with zero shutter lag
• Triple 36MP with zero shutter lag
• Hybrid AF
• 10-bit HEIF image capture
• HDR video
• Multi-frame noise reduction
• Real-time semantic segmentation for photos and videos (up to 8 layers)
• Video super resolution
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
• 200MP single shot
• 108MP single with zero shutter lag
• 64MP+36MP with zero shutter lag
• Triple 36MP with zero shutter lag
• Hybrid AF
• 10-bit HEIF image capture
• HDR video
• Multi-frame noise reduction
• Real-time object classification, segmentation, and replacement
• Video super resolution
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
• 200MP single shot
• 108MP single with zero shutter lag
• 64MP+36MP with zero shutter lag
• Triple 36MP with zero shutter lag
• Hybrid AF
• 10-bit HEIF image capture
• HDR video
• Multi-frame noise reduction
• Real-time object classification, segmentation, and replacement
• Video super resolution
Video capture
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
8K @ 30fps (HDR)
4K UHD @ 120fps
720p @ 960fps
Night Vision Video Capture (4K/60fps)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
8K @ 30fps (HDR)
4K UHD @ 120fps
720p @ 960fps
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
8K @ 30fps (HDR)
4K UHD @ 120fps
720p @ 960fps
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
8K @ 30fps (SDR)
4K UHD @ 120fps
720p @ 960fps
Charging
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Quick Charge 5
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Quick Charge 5
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Quick Charge 5
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
Quick Charge 5
4G/5G Modem
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
X75 LTE/5G (integrated)
10,000Mbps down
3,500Mbps up
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
X70 LTE/5G (integrated)
10,000Mbps down
3,500Mbps up
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
X65 LTE/5G (integrated)
10,000Mbps down
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
X65 LTE/5G (integrated)

Other networking
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Bluetooth 5.4
Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Bluetooth 5.2
Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), 802.11a/b/g/n
Process
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
TSMC 4nm (N4P)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
TSMC 4nm (N4?)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Samsung 4nm
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1
TSMC 4nm

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s predecessor is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and most of 2023’s flagship Android phones are powered by this chip. It’s still a beast, bringing a powerful 1+4+3 CPU, a top-class GPU, and upgrades in plenty of other areas.

We also still see phones with 2022’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and 8 Plus Gen 1 chips. In fact, the latter chip is used inside quite a few upper mid-range phones.

The Galaxy S23 series debuted with a partnership between Samsung and Qualcomm, resulting in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip. It offers slightly higher CPU and GPU clock speeds compared to the vanilla chip. That may translate to better performance in demanding tasks like gaming and video editing.

Notable Snapdragon 8 series phones

Snapdragon 7 series — Bridging the gap

Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 in hand

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 series isn’t quite as straightforward as its flagship 8 series. This is due to the sheer number of them, as well as the older, lower-end chips crossing into Snapdragon 6 territory. The Snapdragon 7 series was originally conceived as an upper mid-range family of processors, but the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 blurs the line between flagship and mid-range like no other chip before it.

This chipset was announced in early 2023 and looks more like a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor than anything else. You’ve got the same TSMC 4nm design, a very similar CPU (one Cortex-X2, three Cortex-A710, four Cortex-A510), and what seems like a similarly powerful ISP. We do see some compromises though, such as a less impressive but still powerful GPU, the mid-tier Snapdragon X62 modem, and missing features like 8K recording.

The Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 is basically 2022's flagship silicon with a few changes and a GPU downgrade.

We put a Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 reference device through some benchmarks too, finding that the chipset was just as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 when it came to CPU performance. There was still a sizeable performance gap when it came to GPU-related tests, but it delivered rock-solid sustained performance. Most of these findings were reflected in our time with the POCO F5, the first commercial phone with this chip.

2022’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 preceded the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, and it was pretty impressive. Expect an octa-core CPU setup here, featuring four powerful Cortex-A710 cores and four Cortex-A510 cores. Qualcomm says the new chipset also delivered a 20% boost in GPU power over the Snapdragon 778G and a 30% improvement in machine learning performance. Other notable features include 200MP camera support, 4K HDR recording, and a 4nm design. Unfortunately, few phones with this chipset actually saw the light of day.

Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2Snapdragon 7s Gen 2Snapdragon 7 Gen 1Snapdragon 780G
CPU
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
1x Cortex-X2
3x Cortex-A710
4x Cortex-A510
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
4x Cortex-A78
4x Cortex-A55
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
4x Cortex-A710
4x Cortex-A510
Snapdragon 780G
2x Kryo 670 (Cortex-A78)
6x Kryo 670 (Cortex-A55)
GPU
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
Adreno
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
Adreno
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
Adreno 662
Snapdragon 780G
Adreno 642
DSP
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
Hexagon
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
Hexagon
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
Hexagon
Snapdragon 780G
Hexagon 770
Modem
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
Snapdragon X62 5G/LTE
5G - 4.4Gbps down, 1.6Gbps up
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
Snapdragon X62 5G/LTE
5G - 2.9Gbps down
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
Snapdragon X62 5G/LTE
5G - 4.4Gbps down, 1.6Gbps up
Snapdragon 780G
Snapdragon X53 5G/LTE
5G - 3.3Gbps down, 3.6Gbps up
Cameras
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
108MP single
64MP+36MP dual
32MP+32MP+32MP triple
200MP snapshot
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
48MP single
32MP+16MP dual
16MP+16MP+16MP triple
200MP snapshot
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
64MP single
64MP+20MP dual
25MP+25MP+25MP triple
200MP snapshot
Snapdragon 780G
84MP single
64MP+20MP dual
25MP+25MP+25MP triple
192MP snapshot
Quick Charge
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
5
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
4+
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
4+
Snapdragon 780G
4+
Bluetooth
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
5.3
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
5.2
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
5.2
Snapdragon 780G
5.2
Process
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
4nm
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
4nm
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
4nm
Snapdragon 780G
5nm

Qualcomm also announced the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 in September 2023. Don’t let the name fool you as this isn’t a sequel to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. Instead, this chip is a step below the 7 Gen 1. You’ve still got a great CPU (four Cortex-A78 and four Cortex-A55) and a 4nm design, but this chip lags behind as far as connectivity and camera capabilities are concerned.

2o21’s Snapdragon 780G is another notable chipset in this tier, bringing a 5nm design and a respectable triple-tiered CPU. You’re looking at one Cortex-A78 CPU clocked at 2.4GHz, three Cortex-A78 CPUs clocked at 2.2GHz, and four Cortex-A55 CPU cores. The Snapdragon 780G also delivered an Adreno 642 GPU that’s said to offer performance in line with older flagships. That was pretty significant at the time as Qualcomm’s mid-range chips previously lagged far behind older flagship processors.

Notable Snapdragon 7 series phones

  • HONOR 90
  • Motorola RAZR 2023
  • Nothing Phone 1
  • POCO F5

Snapdragon 6 series — Value for money

Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
Supplied by Qualcomm

Where the Snapdragon 7 series tries to bridge the gap between mid-range and flagship, the Snapdragon 6 series is mostly focused on the ~$300 and under segment. And the most notable processor in this family is the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1.

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is a significant step up from previous Snapdragon 6 series SoCs, offering a powerful CPU (4x Cortex-A78, 4x Cortex-A55) and an improved Adreno GPU. In fact, Qualcomm claims a 40% and 35% performance boost over the Snapdragon 695’s CPU and GPU respectively. Other notable features include a 4nm design, 200MP snapshot support, and 4K video capture.

Snapdragon 6 Gen 1Snapdragon 695Snapdragon 690Snapdragon 680
CPU
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
4x Cortex-A78
4x Cortex-A55
Snapdragon 695
2x Kryo 660 (Cortex-A78)
6x Kryo 660 (Cortex-A55)
Snapdragon 690
2x Kryo 560 (Cortex-A77)
6x Kryo 560 (Cortex-A55)
Snapdragon 680
4x Kryo 260 (Cortex-A73)
4x Kryo 260 (Cortex-A53)
GPU
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
Adreno
Snapdragon 695
Adreno 619
Snapdragon 690
Adreno 619L
Snapdragon 680
Adreno 610
RAM
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
LPDDR5
Snapdragon 695
LPDDR4X
Snapdragon 690
LPDDR4X
Snapdragon 680
LPDDR4X
DSP
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
Hexagon
Snapdragon 695
Hexagon 686
Snapdragon 690
Hexagon 692
Hexagon Tensor Accelerator
Snapdragon 680
Hexagon 686
Modem
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
X62 5G
2.9Gbps down
TBC up
Snapdragon 695
X51 5G
2.5Gbps down
0.9Gbps up
Snapdragon 690
X51 5G
2.5Gbps down
0.9Gbps up
Snapdragon 680
X11 4G
390Mbps down
150Mbps up
Cameras
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
48MP single
25MP+16MP dual
13MP+13MP+13MP triple
200MP snapshot
Snapdragon 695
32MP single or 16MP dual
192MP snapshot
Snapdragon 690
32MP single or 16MP dual
192MP snapshot
Snapdragon 680
32MP single
16MP dual
13MP+13MP+5MP triple
64MP snapshot
Quick Charge
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
4+
Snapdragon 695
4+
Snapdragon 690
4+
Snapdragon 680
3.0
Bluetooth
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
5.2
Snapdragon 695
5.2
Snapdragon 690
5.1
Snapdragon 680
5.1
Process
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
4nm
Snapdragon 695
6nm
Snapdragon 690
8nm FinFET
Snapdragon 680
6nm

The previous top-end processor in this series was the Snapdragon 695, being an incremental upgrade over 2020’s Snapdragon 690. The 695 brings a capable octa-core CPU (2x Cortex-A77 and 6x Cortex-A55), and an Adreno 619 GPU seen in the Snapdragon 750G. We also get 13MP triple camera support, 108MP single camera support, and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. But the big disappointment here is that it lacks 4K video recording.

Qualcomm also launched the Snapdragon 680 at the same time as the 695, and this chip stands out from the above entries by being a 4G-only SoC. It seems to be derived from the older, budget Snapdragon 665 SoC, sharing features like old CPU cores (four Cortex-A73 and four Cortex-A53), the Adreno 610 GPU, Hexagon 686 DSP, and Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging. There are a couple of upgrades though, namely a much smaller 6nm manufacturing process and Bluetooth 5.1 support.

Notable Snapdragon 6 series phones

  • OnePlus Nord N30
  • POCO X4 Pro
  • Redmi Note 11
  • Samsung Galaxy A23
  • Sony Xperia 10 IV

Snapdragon 4 series — Entry-level

qualcomm snapdragon 480 5g
Qualcomm

Now we come to the least capable Snapdragon series (aside from the shuttered/dormant Snapdragon 200 family), designed for cheap phones. But there’s good news here, as the latest Snapdragon 4 chipset is actually a massive improvement.

The Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 offers a 6nm design, a pretty capable CPU (2x Cortex-A78, 6x Cortex-A55), and a 10% faster GPU than the earlier Snapdragon 480. Otherwise, this SoC has quite a few things in common with the Snapdragon 695. We’ve got the same X51 5G modem, similar camera capabilities (no 4K recording here), 120Hz support at FHD+ display resolution, and Wi-Fi 5.

The Snapdragon 4 series lacks features like a powerful GPU and 4K recording but gains high refresh rate support and 5G.

Go down a notch and we’ve got the Snapdragon 480. This was the first 5G-enabled processor in the Snapdragon 4 series, being announced in early 2021. This is essentially a cut-back Snapdragon 750G chipset, featuring mmWave 5G support, the same Adreno 619 GPU, the same 8nm manufacturing process, Quick Charge 4 Plus tech, and support for FHD+ 120Hz displays.

Snapdragon 4 Gen 1Snapdragon 480/480 PlusSnapdragon 460
CPU
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
2x Cortex-A78
6x Cortex-A55
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
2x Kryo 460 (Cortex-A76)
6x Kryo 460 (Cortex-A55)
Snapdragon 460
4x Kryo 240 (Cortex-A73)
4x Kryo 240 (Cortex-A53)
GPU
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
Adreno
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
Adreno 619
Snapdragon 460
Adreno 610
DSP
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
Hexagon
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
Hexagon 686
Snapdragon 460
Hexagon 683
Modem
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
Snapdragon X51 5G
2.5Gbps down,
0.9Gbps up
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
Snapdragon X51 5G
2.5Gbps down, 660Mbps up
Snapdragon 460
Snapdragon X11 LTE
390Mbps down,
150Mbps up
Cameras
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
32MP single
25MP+13MP dual
13MP+13MP+13MP triple
108MP snapshot

Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
25MP single or 25MP+13MP dual
64MP snapshot

Snapdragon 460
32MP single or 22MP dual
192MP snapshot
Quick Charge
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
4+
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
4+
Snapdragon 460
3.0
Bluetooth
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
5.2
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
5.1
Snapdragon 460
5.1
Process
Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
6nm
Snapdragon 480/480 Plus
8nm
Snapdragon 460
11nm FinFET

We do see a few compromises though, such as older CPU cores (2x Cortex-A76 and 6x Cortex-A55), less impressive camera capabilities (no 4K recording, 64MP snapshot support), and slower 5G speeds. Still, this was a major upgrade for the 4 series at the time, which lacked more modern CPUs and 5G capabilities.

The Snapdragon 480 was succeeded by the Snapdragon 480 Plus in late 2021, but this is a mild upgrade at best rather than a major step up.

Notable Snapdragon 4 series phones

  • Motorola Moto G62
  • OnePlus Nord N100
  • Nokia XR21
  • Redmi Note 12 5G

That’s all for our Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC guide! Let us know your thoughts on the silicon giant’s portfolio in the comments. You can also check out our article charting the history of the Snapdragon 8 family.