Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s upgraded version may drop Samsung exclusivity soon

Ben Schoon | May 22 2023 - 7:02 am PT

The Galaxy S23 series packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but an upgraded version that’s faster than the chip found in other phones today. However, that exclusive deal may end soon, with a similar offering rumored to come to other brands in the near future.

The “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy” is, at its core, the same chip found in devices such as the OnePlus 11. It’s fast and efficient, being produced on TSMC’s 4nm process. The 8 Gen 2 has been a killer chip in each phones it’s been made available in, but the special version made for Samsung’s devices gets an added benefit.

That version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has a higher clock speed, allowing the chip to effectively put more power behind the pedal and really take full advantage of what the architecture has to offer. “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy” has a clock speed of 3.36GHz on the CPU, versus the 3.2GHz on the standard model. The GPU is also confirmed to have some upgrades as well, but Qualcomm wasn’t willing to detail exactly what had changed.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Qualcomm is looking to bring its faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to other brands. The post hints that brands in China could be getting this faster version, which implies brands such as Xiaomi and Oppo.

It’s not clear if this will be exactly the same chip as the “for Galaxy” model, but the point is that faster chips will seemingly be coming to the masses. Presumably, this would be marketed as “Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2,” similar to last year’s mid-cycle upgrade.

Meanwhile, rumors continue to heat up for Qualcomm’s next chips, with leaked benchmarks offering a tantalizing glimpse at the potential power of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and rumors that Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will adopt cores by Qualcomm-owned Nuvia.