Earlier this year, Qualcomm confirmed the launch of Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. The company’s CMO, Don McGuire, posted a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) announcing the processor’s launch at the Snapdragon Summit later this year. However, months before the official launch, known tipster Digital Chat Station shared the chipset’s alleged benchmark scores.
Underpowered Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Can’t Beat Apple A17 Pro
However, instead of providing clarity on the processor’s ability, the scores are, well, confusing. Per the tipster, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC scores 2,700 points in the single-core and 10,000 points in the multi-core Geekbench 6 test. However, instead of a maxed-out version of the chip, an underclocked engineering unit took the test.
What’s confusing is that the same chipset appeared on the Geekbench 6 benchmarking platform in January. Back then, it scored 2,845 points in the single-core and 10,628 points in the multi-core test. There’s a chance it was a full-specced version of the processor. However, four months later, when the company should be finalizing the development of the chip, seeing an underpowered version on the same benchmarking platform is a tad concerning.
Here’s How The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s Geekbench Score Compare With Other Chips
- The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC on the S24 Ultra (review) scores about 2,250 points in the single-core and 7,100 points in the multi-core Geekbench 6 score.
- At the same time, Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, with its A17 Pro SoC, scores 2,900 points in the single-core and 7,450 points in the multi-core test.
Now, let’s see how the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC benchmark score compares with the others.
- The latest single-core scores of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 make it more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 but less capable than the A17 Pro SoC.
- However, the multi-core score suggests that the upcoming chipset will reign over the others.
- The older scores, however, suggest that 8 Gen 4 will perform as well as the A17 Pro SoC, even in the single-core benchmark tests.
Why Would The Company Test An Underpowered Snapdragon 8 Gen 4?
While performing at its peak, a processor requires optimum heat dissipation. Large computer cabinets have enough space for cooling mechanisms such as fans, which cool down the process as it heats up. However, due to a lack of space in a smartphone, sustaining peak processor performance for a prolonged period isn’t possible. Even though manufacturers have developed smartphone vapor cooling chambers, they aren’t as effective.
Hence, chipset manufacturers often cap the peak processing power of their processors at a certain level. This helps keep the overall temperature within the ideal range. Given the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is a powerful processor (as seen in the early benchmark scores), there’s a chance that the company is testing some underpowered versions for certain models. On the other hand, Qualcomm could make multiple versions of the processor.
In the past, we’ve seen the company developing a unique “Snapdragon for Galaxy” version with a slightly higher clock speed.
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