We're several months out from the next Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, but we're already getting our first glimpse at what's very likely to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 thanks to Kuba Wojciechowski. Wojciechowski shared details about the core layout of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which packs unannounced Arm cores and an extra core cluster, too. If his name sounds familiar, he has leaked other information in the past pertaining to the Pixel Tablet and the Pixel Fold.

According to Wojciechowski, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has part code SM8650 and is codenamed either Lanai or Pineapple. "Lanai" especially makes sense, as Snapdragon chipsets have often shared a codename with either Hawaiian islands or events. It appears that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 it will have the following CPU configuration:

  • 2x Arm cores (codenamed Hayes), A5xx, "Silver" cores
  • 3x Arm cores (codenamed Hunter), A7xx, "Gold" cores
  • 2x Arm cores (codenamed Hunter) A7xx, "Titanium" cores
  • 1x Arm core (codenamed Hunter ELP), Xx, "Gold+" core

There are a couple of details to unpack here, with the first being that Qualcomm hasn't used its Kryo Silver and Kryo Gold marketing terms in a long time. Wojciechowski says that these names match what was in the code, which I would say is probably left over as a remnant from that era. It's unlikely that Qualcomm would go back to that marketing, as currently, it uses "Efficiency", "Performance", and "Prime" as its classifiers for its typical three clusters. These are likely just codenames that are now used internally for classification and separation purposes.

What is interesting is that the "Titanium" cluster is all-new and seems to be distinct in software. The chipset also apparently drops 32-bit support entirely, making it the first Qualcomm chipset to do so. On top of that, there's an upgraded GPU in the form of an Adreno 750 GPU (the GPU in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is the Adreno 740), and it's currently clocked at 770MHz. That's subject to change before release, though.

Finally, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will apparently run Linux Kernel 6.1 with Android 14, which is in line with what we expected. It's likely that these details are correct, given Wojciechowski's track record and the fact that he says he has seen these referenced in code too. However, as always, things like this can be subject to change. We're a long way away from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 still, but it's exciting to get a glimpse at what the future of Android flagships may hold.