Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit is in full swing, and the big news is the unveiling of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the company’s next-generation chip for premium Android flagships. But hold on, where’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4? That’s what everyone was expecting, given the straightforward naming convention Qualcomm has been using for years – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Gen 2, Gen 1, and so on.
Qualcomm’s decision to ditch the familiar “Gen” nomenclature and introduce the “Elite” label seems to be a strategic move to emphasize the considerable leap in performance this new chip offers. It also aligns the smartphone chip naming with their Snapdragon X Elite laptop chipsets, making things a bit more consistent across platforms.
However, a valid question arises: does the average person even care about the names of the processors in their smartphones? The reality is, most people are more interested in whether their phones work well enough for their needs, not the technical jargon behind the scenes.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite boasts a significant performance boost compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The new chip boasts six performance cores and two prime cores, ditching the efficiency cores altogether. This results in a notable increase in processing power, with the prime cores hitting speeds of up to 4.32GHz, compared to 3.2GHz in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This translates to a claimed 45% improvement in overall CPU performance and 44% better efficiency.
So, is the rebranding to “Snapdragon 8 Elite” a necessary change? From a technical perspective, it makes sense, especially when you consider the performance gains. However, the average user may not see much value in the new name. It’s likely more of a marketing tactic for Qualcomm to highlight the new chip’s capabilities, particularly among tech enthusiasts and journalists.
This isn’t the first time Qualcomm has rebranded its Snapdragon chips. In 2021, they transitioned from using numerical designations (like Snapdragon 888, 870, etc.) to generation numbers. So, this latest change is a bit surprising, happening only three years later.
It’s exciting to see what Qualcomm has in store for its premium flagship chip in the future. Will we see “Snapdragon 8 Elite 2” or a completely new moniker? Whatever they decide, the key takeaway is that performance matters. And the Snapdragon 8 Elite appears to deliver on that front, despite the slightly unconventional name. In the end, if it’s fast, efficient, and helps us get things done, that’s what truly matters.