Following the debut of MediaTek’s newest addition to its Dimensity chip series, Qualcomm has officially announced its latest entry in the premium mid-tier category with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. The new chip essentially serves as the successor to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which debuted all the way back in 2023. As expected, Qualcomm does promise some improvements to overall performance.
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Fabricated with a 4nm process, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 features an octa-core Kryo CPU setup arranged in a 1+4+3 layout, which consists of a single high-performance Prime core clocked at 2.8GHz, accompanied by four performance-oriented cores operating at 2.4GHz, as well as three efficiency cores running at 1.8GHz. According to Qualcomm, this translates to a 27% improvement in overall CPU performance when compared to its predecessor, at least on paper. Essentially, this means snappier multitasking, faster app loading times, and an generally smoother user experience.
Graphics duties are handled by an Adreno GPU with a 30% improvement in performance, which should be ideal for gaming as it does promise smoother frame rates and better-looking visuals in demanding titles. The 7 Gen 4 also comes with Snapdragon Elite Gaming features including Adaptive Performance Engine 4.0, for sustained performance during extended gaming sessions. For media, the chip supports HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, and HLG formats, which should also make it ideal for content consumption.
For AI duties, there’s an integrated Hexagon NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that’s been upgraded with up to a 65% increase in speed, at least when compared to the previous generation. The NPU is also capable of running Stable Diffusion 1.5 locally, eliminating the need for cloud-based processing. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 also features compatibility with the faster LPDDR5 memory standard and supports high-speed UFS 4.0 storage, for data access. For photography and videography, the chip also comes with a triple 12-bit Spectra Image Signal Processor (ISP), which is designed for still image capture at resolutions up to 200 megapixels and video recording at 4K resolution at 30fps.
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For connectivity, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 works with sub-6 GHz 5G networks and Wi-Fi 7 support which should provide users with faster connection speeds, and there’s also Bluetooth 6.0 for local connectivity with other hardware. Audio is handled via aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive audio technologies, and there’s Qualcomm XPAN which allows for seamless connectivity between compatible devices. As for availability, buyers can expect the first wave of 7 Gen 4 smartphones from Honor, vivo, and realme to arrive in the coming months.
