Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Benchmarks and Specs

Apr. 5, 2024

Qualcomm launched theSnapdragon 8s Gen 3about two weeks ago, positioning the chipset in the flagship segment. However, the chipset features underclocked cores. We got our hands on the first smartphone launched with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro, from China, so we ran all essential benchmarks, including Geekbench, AnTuTu, CPU Throttling test, and more, to help you understand how it performs.

On that note, let’s check out Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 benchmark scores to understand where it sits among the premium-tier chipsets.

Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Specifications

Before you scroll down, take some time to understand theSnapdragon chipset naming schemeand take a look at the key specifications of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset.Snapdragon 8s Gen 3Process NodeTSMC 4nmCPUOcta-core Kryo CPU1x 3.0GHz (Cortex-X4)4x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A720)3x 2.0GHz (Cortex-A520)GPUAdreno 735 GPUHW Ray TracingAFME 2.0NPUHexagon NPURun AI models up to 10B parametersCamera SupportCognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPsUp to 200MP photo capture108MP ZSL, 64+36 ZSL, 36+36+36 ZSL4K HDR video capture at 60 FPSConnectivityWi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LEModemSnapdragon X70 5G ModemPeak Download Speed 5 GbpsPeak Upload Speed 3.5 GbpsStorage / RAM SupportUFS 4.0LPDDR5X memory up to 4200MHzAV1 Codec SupportHW-accelerated AV1 Decode onlyNavIC SupportYes

In the Geekbench test, which evaluates the CPU performance, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 has performed along expected lines. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored1,999in the single-core test and5,273in the multi-core test.

It scores higher than theSnapdragon 7+ Gen 3and remains on par with the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. However, in comparison to the latestSnapdragon 8 Gen 3, it’s decidedly behind due to lower frequency across all cores, despite packing the same CPU cores.

In the popular AnTuTu benchmark test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 again performs well, achieving a total score of1,523,930 points. It delivers better performance than the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 and easily rivals the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Here is the breakdown of AnTuTu scores for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.AnTuTu BenchmarkSnapdragon 8s Gen 3AnTuTu Score1,523,930CPU391,196GPU520,531Memory344,714UX267,489

In the CPU Throttling test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 performed exceedingly well. It throttled to 94% of its maximum performance in a 15-minute test. We also did a longer 60-minute test, and Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro performed consistently without visible performance drops.

That said, keep in mind that the phone got pretty hot, most likely due to the poor cooling system on the Civi 4 Pro. The phone is not meant for gaming so Xiaomi could have skipped on baking a vapor cooling system.

Since the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro didn’t run the 3DMark benchmark app, we ran the Geekbench 6 GPU test to evaluate the chip’s graphical capabilities. In the Geekbench GPU test based on the OpenCL API, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored 8,838 points and with the Vulkan API, it got 10,154 points.

The Adreno 735 GPU on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 seems plenty powerful in line with the Adreno 740 GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It supportsHW-accelerated Ray Tracingas well, but we couldn’t run the Solar Bay test as 3DMark was crashing on launch.

In the Geekbench ML test, which evaluates theNPU performance, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored 612 points. Note that Qualcomm chipsets currently do not support the NNAPI backend properly, which may be the reason behind the low score.

So that rounds up our benchmark testing of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. As expected, it’s a flagship-level chipset and rivals the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It also beats the recently launched Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 with aplomb.

However, in comparison to the premium-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, there is a slight but significant difference due to lower clock speeds. Nevertheless, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 positions itself as a potential alternative to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with newer CPU cores and better efficiency.

Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.