Qualcomm quietly unveils Snapdragon 6s Gen 3, a modest upgrade with a familiar face

Qualcomm has discreetly introduced the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 mobile platform, a modest upgrade over its predecessors that might leave tech enthusiasts underwhelmed. Despite the "new" moniker, this chipset bears a striking resemblance to the Snapdragon 695 from 2021 and its rebranded sibling, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1.

Built on a 6nm TSMC node, the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 features two Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.3 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0 GHz, offering a slight performance boost compared to its predecessors. However, its Adreno 619 GPU, LPDDR4X RAM support, and FastConnect 6200 modem seem dated for a 2024 release.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect is its camera ISP, which only supports video capture up to 1080p@60fps. This limitation pales in comparison to the 4K@30fps capability of the more powerful Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 released in 2022.

While the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 might not be a game-changer, it could power budget-friendly devices in the near future. Leaked benchmarks suggest that the upcoming Motorola G85 might be among the first smartphones to feature this chipset.