Qualcomm has recently announced a 7 series SoC known as the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3. This new SoC, on the surface, appears to be a successor to the very popular Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2. The truth of the matter is that it is not.

Qualcomm has a four-tiered SoC naming system that helps customers identify the different performance levels of their SoCs. These are the:

  • 4-Gen
  • 6-Gen
  • 7-Gen
  • 8-Gen

The recently rebranded 7-Gen series are intended to bridge the gap between the Flagship 8-Gen series and the Midrange 6-Gen series. This is where the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 comes in. It belongs to the 3rd generation of the Snapdragon 7 series chipsets.

Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 specifications

  • CPU Cores:
    • 1x ARM Cortex A715 (2.63GHz)
    • 3x ARM Cortex A715 (2.40GHz)
    • 4x ARM Cortex A510 (1.80GHz)
  • GPU: Adreno 720
  • AnTuTu: 723834
  • GeekBench: 1130 (single)/3362 (multi)
  • ISA: ARMv9.0
  • Fab: 4nm TSMC
  • RAM: LPDDR5 (3200MHz)
  • Storage: UFS 3.1
  • Camera: Up to 200MP (single camera)
  • ISP: Qualcomm Spectra
  • AI: Hexagon DSP
  • Video Capture: 4K/60fps
  • Video Playback: 4K/60 fps
  • Display support: 3360 × 1600p
  • Modem: Snapdragon™ X63 5G Modem, mmWave and Sub-6GHz, LTE, HSPA, 1.6 Gbps (upload), 5 Gbps (download), Bluetooth 5.3 LE, WiFi 6.

Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 Performance

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is an octa-core SoC with a 1+3+4 DynamIQ CPU setup. There are four Cortex A715 CPU cores for CPU intensive tasks and four Cortex A55 CPU cores for battery efficiency. This setup is capable of outputting very decent performance, at least at upper midrange level. However, the name of this SoC could get a lot of people confused into thinking that this SoC is the best-performing 7-series SoC. It is is not. In terms of performance, it is miles below the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 and is only better than the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 and the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2.

Similar SoCs with the same performance include:

  • Dimensity 8050
  • Snapdragon 865
  • Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
  • Exynos 990
  • Kirin 990

Gaming and graphics

For gaming and graphics, there’s an Adreno 720. Even though information on this particular GPU is thin, an Adreno 700 series GPU should pack enough punch to handle a lot of games out there.

RAM and Storage support

This SoC has support for LPDDR5 RAM running at 3200MHz with a maximum capacity of 16GB. For storage, there’s support for UFS 3.1. These specs are plenty enough to give you a snappy and satisfactory experience.

Cameras and Video

There is support for up to 200MP cameras on this SoC. In addition, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 can record videos of up to 4K HDR resolution at 30fps. This SoC is also equipped with a Spectra ISP and a Hexagon DSP NPU for image and video processing.

Connectivity

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 comes very well equipped with a Snapdragon X63 5G Modem. This SoC has support for 3G, 4G (LTE Cat. 18) and 5G (Sub-6GHz and mmWave). It also supports WiFi 6 and 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 LE and NFC.

Battery life

This SoC is built on a 4nm TSMC process. As a result, you can have some assurance that the battery life and energy efficiency on this SoC should be quite good.

Conclusion

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is a solid upper midrange SoC. It is not as good as the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 but it is good enough to trade blows with the likes of the Snapdragon 865, Dimensity 8050, Kirin 990 (5G). That’s more than enough power for the average user with decent battery life to boot.

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