Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 vs 8s Gen 3: Which chip is actually faster?

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 is a fairly new SoC positioned as an upper-mid-range chipset compared to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, which is an affordable-flagship chip announced in early 2024. Despite different market positioning, the phones powered by these two chips fall within a similar price range. In fact, some 7 Gen 4 phones cost much more.

So, the real question is: does it make sense to go for the newer Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 or a slightly older but still powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 3? We’ll be looking at the spec sheet, benchmark scores, and other important aspects of this comparison to find out the answer.

Let’s begin with a spec sheet:

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

Announced May 2025 March 2024

Process node 4nm (TSMC) 4nm (TSMC)

CPU 1 x 2.8GHz — Cortex-A720

4 x 2.4GHz — Cortex-A720

3 x 1.84GHz — Cortex-A520 1 x 3GHz — Cortex-X4

4 x 2.8GHz — Cortex-A720

3 x 2GHz — Cortex-A520

GPU Adreno 722

Snapdragon Elite Gaming features Adreno 735

Snapdragon Elite Gaming features

NPU Qualcomm Hexagon NPU Qualcomm Hexagon NPU

Memory LPDDR5x, up to 4.2GHz LPDDR5x, up to 4.2GHz

Storage UFS 4.0 UFS 4.0

Camera Qualcomm Spectra triple AI ISP (12-bit)

up to 200MP single camera

up to 64MP single camera with zero shutter lag

up to 32+21MP dual cameras with zero shutter lag

up to 21MP triple cameras with zero shutter lag

4K/60fps video recording

1080p/120fps slow-mo video recording Qualcomm Spectra triple ISP (18-bit)

up to 200MP single camera

up to 108MP single camera with zero shutter lag

up to 64+36MP dual cameras with zero shutter lag

up to 36MP triple cameras with zero shutter lag

4K/60fps video recording

1080p/240fps slow-mo video recording

Connectivity Snapdragon 5G modem (sub‑6 GHz)

up to 4.2Gbps download speed

Wi-Fi 7 (peak speed: 5.8 Gbps)

Bluetooth 6.0 Snapdragon X70 5G modem (sub‑6 GHz)

up to 6.5Gbps download speed

up to 3.5Gbps upload speed

Wi-Fi 7 (peak speed: 5.8 Gbps)

Bluetooth 5.4

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 vs 8s Gen 3: Benchmark scores

[Note: For the benchmark results, the tests were performed on the Vivo T4 Pro (powered by Snapdragon 7 Gen 4) and Poco F6 (powered by Snapdragon 8s Gen 3).]

Geekbench score

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 comfortably outclasses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 in the CPU test on Geekbench. It achieves a 54% higher score in the single-core performance test and about a 38% higher score in the multi-core performance test.

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

Single core 1,252 1,932

Multi core 3,620 4,986

This should result in higher peak performance on a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3-powered device than on one powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. However, everyday tasks like browsing the internet, scrolling through social media apps, and watching videos perform smoothly on both chips.

AnTuTu score

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 also dominates AnTuTu with a total score above 1.5 million, while the 7 Gen 4 achieves just about 1 million. That’s a 50% uplift for the 8s Gen 3.

The individual scores paint a better picture: a 27% higher CPU score and a 60% higher score for the 8s Gen 3. The memory and UX scores also favor Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 over the 7 Gen 4.

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

AnTuTu score 1,010,864 1,505,656

CPU 309,273 391,859

GPU 323,797 517,257

Memory 182,776 325,777

UX 195,019 270,763

Benchmark scores alone don’t tell the complete story. They do not discuss other important aspects, such as the camera and connectivity. So, we’ll uncover the key differences in the following section.

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 vs 8s Gen 3: Key differences

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 and 8s Gen 3 feature the same 1+4+3 core configuration, but their core selection differs. The 7 Gen 4 features one Cortex-A720 large core, four Cortex-A720 mid cores, and three Cortex-A520 small cores. In contrast, the 8s Gen 3 has a more powerful Cortex-X4 large core, four Cortex-A720 mid cores, and three Cortex-A520 small cores.

Not only does the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 feature higher-performance cores, but they also run at higher speeds. That’s the main reason it’s able to beat the 7 Gen 4 in benchmarks by a big margin.

The 8s Gen 3 also features a more powerful Adreno 735 GPU with more pipelines and higher compute throughput than the Adreno 722 GPU on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. Additionally, the 8s Gen 3 supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which enhances the gaming experience with more accurate lighting, reflections, and shadows.

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 also excels in imaging, featuring an 18-bit ISP compared to the 12-bit ISP on the other chip. Furthermore, the 8s Gen 3 supports semantic segmentation (up to 12 layers) and zero shutter lag at higher resolutions. Both chips support up to 4K video recording at 60fps, but when it comes to slow-motion recording, the differences become apparent. The 8s Gen 3 supports 1080p slow-motion recording at 240fps, while the 7 Gen 4 peaks at 120fps.

Both chipsets feature robust connectivity, though some differences remain. The 7 Gen 4 features a newer Bluetooth standard, while the 8s Gen 3 excels in peak download speed over a 5G connection. The peak Wi-Fi speed, however, remains unchanged.

Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs 7 Gen 4: Which is a better choice?

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is a no-brainer pick over the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, featuring faster CPU and GPU with support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing. It also features a robust ISP with better slow-motion video recording and semantic segmentation support.

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 also features robust connectivity, with a higher peak download speed over 5G. The 7 Gen 4 offers a newer Bluetooth standard, but that alone can’t make up for everything. Hence, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 remains a solid pick over the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4.