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

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

Looking for the very best Qualcomm smartphone processor family? That will be the Snapdragon 8 range. The flagship chip for 2024 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was announced in October 2023. It powers a host of high-end phones in 2024, such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, OnePlus 12, and the Xiaomi 14 series.

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.

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.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s predecessor is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and most of 2023’s flagship Android phones were powered by this chip. It’s still a beast in 2024, bringing a powerful 1+4+3 CPU, a top-class GPU, and upgrades in plenty of other areas. So it’s no wonder that we’ve seen this chipset in the likes of the recently released OnePlus 12R.

The latest Snapdragon 8 series chip, however, is the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3. This was announced in March 2024 and is meant to power affordable flagship smartphones. It features a powerful CPU (one Cortex-X4, four Cortex-A720, and three Cortex-A520) and a tweaked version of the beefy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 GPU. The chipset offers on-device generative AI support too, but Qualcomm acknowledged that AI performance was slower than the 8 Gen 3.  The SoC also lacks 8K and super-slow motion video support as seen on the 8 Gen 2 and 8 Gen 3.

Notable Snapdragon 8 series phones

• ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra
• OnePlus 12
• OnePlus 12R
• Samsung Galaxy S24 series
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
• Xiaomi 14 series

Snapdragon 7 series — Bridging the gap

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 3 blends high-end and mid-range features like few other processors.

The Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 was announced in March 2024 and brings a 4nm design and a powerful, flagship-grade CPU. Qualcomm didn’t specify the GPU details bar saying it was 45% faster than the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2. Otherwise, the 7 Plus Gen 3 also brings features like support for on-device generative AI features (e.g. Gemini Nano, image generation), 4K/60fps HDR video, and Wi-Fi 7. Just don’t expect AV1 support, 8K video recording, and the greatest modem.

Prior to the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3, we had the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2. This was 2023’s best mid-range chip by Qualcomm, and it looked 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. Unfortunately, only one phone launched with this chipset.

One rung down from these two chipsets is the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, announced in late 2023. Expect a notable drop in CPU and GPU performance compared to the Plus chips, but the CPU is still good for a mid-ranger (4x Cortex-A715 and 4x Cortex-A510). This chip does, however, lack features like 4K/60fps video support, Ultra HDR capabilities, generative AI, and Snapdragon Seamless.

Qualcomm also announced the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 in September 2023. This is the least capable recent Snapdragon 7 series processor on the list. You’ve got a good but aging CPU setup (4x Cortex-A78 and 4x Cortex-A55) and a 4nm design, but this chip lags behind as far as connectivity and camera capabilities are concerned.

Notable Snapdragon 7 series phones

• Motorola RAZR 2023
• OnePlus Nord CE 4
• POCO F5
• Realme 12 Pro Plus 5G
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G

Snapdragon 6 series — Value for money

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 more 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.

The previous top-end processor in this series was the Snapdragon 695, it turn being an incremental upgrade over 2020’s Snapdragon 690. The 695 brings a middling octa-core CPU (2x Cortex-A77 and 6x Cortex-A55), and an aging Adreno 619 GPU. 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 offers the Snapdragon 685, and this is actually a 4G-only SoC. This is a tweaked version of the Snapdragon 680, which in turn was derived from the older, budget Snapdragon 665 SoC. Expect an ancient CPU (four Cortex-A73 and four Cortex-A53), the Adreno 610 GPU which first appeared in 2020, and obsolete Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging. There are a couple of upgrades though, namely a smaller 6nm manufacturing process and Bluetooth 5.2 support.

Notable Snapdragon 6 series phones

• Motorola Moto G Play 2024
• Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G 2023
• OnePlus Nord N30
• Samsung Galaxy A23
• Sony Xperia 10 V

Snapdragon 4 series — Entry-level

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 Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 actually looks decent for a low-end chipset.

The Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 was announced in mid-2022 and offers a 6nm design, a solid but unspectacular 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.

This isn’t the latest Snapdragon 4 series processor, though, as that would be the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 (announced in June 2023). It delivers a few upgrades like a 4nm design for greater efficiency, a more capable X61 5G modem, and a slightly faster CPU clock speed. Unfortunately, there are also a couple of downgrades compared to the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1, namely the somewhat inferior GPU and Bluetooth 5.1 instead of 5.2. No, there’s no 4K recording support here, either.

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. It does, however, feature an older CPU and less impressive camera capabilities. The 480 was succeeded by the Snapdragon 480 Plus in late 2021, but that’s only a mild upgrade.

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.