The News: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. just introduced its new Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Mobile Platform, building on the 7-series’ momentum of bringing enhanced capabilities to more users. The new platform offers on-device generative AI capabilities with support for LLMs including Baichuan-7B, Llama 2 at 1B parameters, and others. It also features new adventure-packed mobile gaming experiences powered by Qualcomm’s powerful Adreno GPU and a professional-grade camera with video capture features such as 12-bit triple ISP and 4K sHDR.
New Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Mobile Platform: Premium AI Features, Budget-Friendlier Tier
Analyst Take: Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Mobile Platform is basically a more budget-friendly and slightly pared-down version of the bleeding edge Snapdragon 8 Gen3 platform available in flagship devices. The 7 series typically makes some of the innovations found in the flagship-tier 8 series available to users whose needs and budget lean more toward premium-to-high performance tiers. One of the more interesting aspects of the 7s Gen 3 is that it incorporates on-device AI features that, a year ago, would have only been available on flagship handsets.
Per Chris Patrick, SVP and GM of mobile handsets at Qualcomm: “This platform is another proof point in our commitment to deliver the best-in-class mobile experiences to consumers at every price.”
Predictably, Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 will initially turn up in Xiaomi phones, with the first device expected to be announced next month. The partnership between Xiaomi and Qualcomm has only deepened in recent cycles, with the handset maker emerging as a great showcase of Snapdragon innovations.
Case in Point: “Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies has never been stronger, and we are thrilled to be the first to adopt Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 in an upcoming mobile device,” said Thomas Wang, GM of Redmi at Xiaomi. “The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 sets new benchmarks for performance in its class, and we are excited for our customers to experience its extensive capabilities, including advanced on-device AI, engaging gaming experiences, and stunning photography.”
While the 7s Gen 3 doesn’t quite deliver the same punch as its more impressive 8 Gen 3 sibling, its Kryo CPU will allow users to enjoy a wide range of performance improvements compared to its predecessors—the 7s Gen 2—like up to 20% better performance and 45% power savings while multitasking. Qualcomm’s crispy new Adreno GPU’s up to 40% performance improvement will also likely produce noticeable improvements while streaming media and gaming. A new AI engine is also expected to deliver over 30% better performance for AI-enabled workloads. Lastly, while implementation and unique use cases will ultimately determine how power-efficient handsets powered by the 7s Gen 3 will ultimately be, users could experience a 10% bump in power efficiency (Given the refreshed AI engine’s dedicated NPU, I feel that perhaps Qualcomm is lowballing this a bit).
Speaking of AI features, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 supports multi-language translation and transcription, AI-based noise cancellation, and noise reduction enabled by the Qualcomm Sensing Hub, which delivers a 2x performance improvement thanks to its embedded Micro NPU).
The platform also delivers 200 MP photo and 4K HDR video capture, with Qualcomm’s Triple ISP enabling concurrent photo and video capture, ultra-fast parallel processing, and smooth zooming. The AI Remosaic feature also helps users produce sharp, higher resolution photos without discoloration or grain, while AI Video Retouch helps clean up video for clear, highly detailed footage thanks to real-time tone mapping. Again, these are remarkable features for a mobile platform designed for more budget-friendly price tiers than the 8 Gen 3.
The 7s Gen 3 platform also supports Snapdragon Elite Gaming features and FHD+ 144 Hz displays. Its Adaptive Performance Engine (APE 3.0) also delivers incredible rendering performance for modern gaming workloads and is designed to keep games running better over longer periods of time. 7s Gen 3 also supports Variable Rate Shading to dynamically render objects for visually stunning scenes without sacrificing power efficiency. (A note on this: Qualcomm’s proprietary Adreno HDR Fast Blend renders dynamic, complex scenes 2x faster than smartphones without the IP.) The platform also supports the Vulkan 1.3 API to help future-proof devices for mobile gaming.
Quickly browsing the specs, I also noticed that the Snapdragon Sound Technology Suite made the cut, so users should expect surround-sound, enabled by spatial audio (yes, with smart head-tracking). A Qualcomm Aqstic Hi-Fi DAC is also included to balance performance and power consumption without compromising audio quality—for music, video streaming, calls, and gaming. This includes Qualcomm Aqstic Speaker Max Technology, which reduces distortion in music played at high volumes directly from the device speaker.
The platform’s 5G Modem-RF System is also predictably solid, with Dual-SIM Dual Active 5G+5G/4G for even more global flexibility than the 7s Gen 2 delivered just a year ago. Qualcomm also included its FastConnect Mobile Connectivity System to enable swift, responsive Wi-Fi 6E with speeds up to 2.9 Gbps. I am a bit sad to see that WiFi 7 isn’t mentioned, but for this tier at this time, it makes sense. Wi-Fi 6E support is great. The platform also supports Bluetooth 5.4, with improved reliability and efficiency across a broader range of audio use cases.
All in all, I think Qualcomm hits the bullseye with this release, not only making some premium features available to more handset users but also putting pressure on competitors in the price tier that Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 operates in, primarily MediaTek, Google (Pixel), and Apple. The risk for Qualcomm is always a game of inches here, as it needs to deliver more value than its competitors while also not cannibalizing demand for its flagship platform. Making the 7s too good could obviously be a problem. Qualcomm has been doing this for a minute though and understood the assignment.
The timing of the release also seems on point, as Qualcomm is expected to announce its next-generation flagship tier Snapdragon platform, presumably the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, at its annual Snapdragon Tech Summit this October. Releasing a powerful new 7s platform just a couple of months ahead of that Snapdragon series refresh all but neutralizes any risk of 7s Gen 3 cannibalizing demand for flagship tier performance moving forward.
Read the full press release on Qualcomm’s website.
Image Credit: Qualcomm
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
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Author Information
Olivier Blanchard has extensive experience managing product innovation, technology adoption, digital integration, and change management for industry leaders in the B2B, B2C, B2G sectors, and the IT channel. His passion is helping decision-makers and their organizations understand the many risks and opportunities of technology-driven disruption, and leverage innovation to build stronger, better, more competitive companies. Read Full Bio.
