Qualcomm might find it difficult to tame the power consumption of the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, despite the chipset reported on multiple occasions to be mass produced on TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3E’ node. Theoretically, an improved manufacturing process should mean that the flagship SoC will be energy-efficient, but a tipster hints that smartphone makers opting to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in their models will add bigger batteries. Companies may compensate for the silicon’s increased power by incorporating bigger cells to deliver that record runtime.
Phone makers are rumored to use 5,500mAh batteries in flagships sporting the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4
A post put out by Digital Chat Station on Weibo talks about three flagships getting tested with a battery capacity of 5,500mAh. Since Chinese brands are well-known for adding massive cells to their handsets, we will not be surprised to hear that OPPO, Xiaomi, Vivo, or any other firm chose this component. However, the OnePlus 12 with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 also sports a 5,500mAh battery, so one of the devices being tested may be the OnePlus 13.
Related Story Samsung Reportedly Maintaining Dual-Chipset Launch With Galaxy S25 Series By Introducing Exynos 2500, Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Variants Next Year
As for why Qualcomm could be tweaking the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 to consume more power, the company may wish its upcoming chipset to deliver unrivaled single-core and multi-core performance. We have reported that the SoC was tested earlier with clock speeds of 4.00GHz, with one instance said to have reached 4.30GHz. It is unconfirmed if these frequencies are sustainable, but in addition to cramming bigger batteries, Qualcomm’s partners will have to add larger vapor chambers to dissipate the heat effectively.
The high power draw of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could also be explained by the lack of efficiency cores, as the silicon is rumored to ship with just performance cores in the ‘2 + 6’ configuration. MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300 followed this approach, and we have seen in various comparisons that the chipset consumes more watts than its competitors. Then again, since the rumor is not verified, it could be hot air, so readers should treat this information with a pinch of salt. According to a Qualcomm executive, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will launch in October, so we will provide any and all updates then.
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Reports are beginning to surface that an open-world Donkey Kong video game was once planned for the Nintendo Switch, but the project was scrapped. A new hour-long video claims that the Donkey Kong game would have been headed up by then-Activision subsidiary Vicarious Visions, now known as Blizzard Albany.
The Pura 70 flagship series officially launched by Huawei also sports the company’s new Kirin 9010, a 12-core SoC that delivers a slew of improvements over its predecessor, the Kirin 9000S from last year. However, regarding lithography, the Kirin 9010 and Kirin 9000S are pretty much identical, with a teardown revealing that Huawei stuck with SMIC’s 7nm process to mass produce its latest SoC.
No Rest for the Wicked, the new action-rpg/roguelike from Ori developer Moon Studios is out now in early access and eliciting a mix of responses. Most have been struck by the game’s obvious potential, but some have also complained the game is a bit overly demanding when it comes to PC performance, particularly considering it’s an isometric Diablo-like (albeit a very nice-looking one).
The Apple Vision Pro might not be a hit in the consumer market as updated shipment estimates have dropped to 400,000 to 450,000 units for 2024, but the $3,499 head-mounted wearable is a success in the enterprise division, with companies thoroughly impressed with what has been crammed into the device. During Apple’s Q2 2024 earnings, CEO Tim Cook revealed that half of Fortune 100 companies have purchased the AR headset, and it has proven itself to deliver immense utility in various applications.
Qualcomm is expected to officially unveil the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in October this year, so it is no surprise that the flagship’s engineering sample is being thoroughly tested and benchmarked to iron out the problems before commercial units are sent to the company’s phone partners. However, early results show that the chipset’s performance is beyond disappointing, with the performance cores said to be running at a significantly lower resolution than what previous reports suggested.
Huawei achieved another milestone with its Pura 70 series launch and that is sourcing 90 percent of smartphone components from Chinese suppliers. With the U.S. export control barring foreign companies from shipping parts to the company to use in various products, Huawei was adamant about cutting off overseas manufacturers and relying on local firms to get the job done. So far, the progress has been impressive, and only a few components remain to completely eliminate dependency on supply chain partners outside of China.
The Dimensity 9400 is scheduled to be announced later this year, and one of the most significant differences between it and chipsets like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and A17 Pro is that MediaTek will not rely on custom cores for its upcoming SoC. Instead, ARM’s current CPU designs will be utilized, which might give an impression that the Dimensity 9400 is at a distinct disadvantage. However, one tipster claims that MediaTek and ARM are collaborating to use the latter’s ‘BlackHawk’ architecture in the upcoming silicon, potentially delivering better Instructions Per Clock (IPC) performance than competing current-generation chips.
Details about Clorinde’s kit in 4.7 have been leaked and the information provided hints at what will be a challenging gameplay rotation, even for some of the game’s best players. Clorinde is the Champion Duelist from Fontaine, the former escort to Lady Furina, and Navia’s old friend. The character has played an important role in the Fontaine storyline and is now finally confirmed as an upcoming playable character in 4.7. She will be released in the same patch as Sigewinne and Sethos, both of which have been confirmed, too, though their order in banners is uncertain.
The Snapdragon X Elite performance numbers that nearly everyone has seen would likely present an impression that Qualcomm has finally developed a capable ARM-based SoC that delivers some much-needed competition to Apple Silicon. Unfortunately, that would have been the case if the San Diego chip giant had not allegedly manipulated benchmarks. One report says that the benchmark claims are impossible to recreate for Qualcomm’s partners that will eventually use the Snapdragon X Elite in various notebook models.
Gran Turismo players! Now more than ever, technology is developing in ways that creates endless possibilities. This month’s GT updates features a glimpse of what the future would hold through two vehicles, the coveted ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo and AFEELA Prototype 2024 .
Developer Shift Up has issued a new update for Stellar Blade that adds a New Game+ mode before the game has even hit store shelves. Stellar Blade's release date is Friday, April 26, but reviews for the over-the-top action game have gone live. If the reviews are any indication, Stellar Blade is yet another high-quality PlayStation exclusive, and it could very well be one of the better games released all year.