Qualcomm inadvertently confirms Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 codename in promotional video

Qualcomm confirmed it would unveil the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 sometime in October, about a year after it lifted the covers off the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. An earlier leak said it would be codenamed "Sun" on benchmarking platforms and "Pakala" on the hardware front. In a new Behind the Silicon: Snapdragon X episode on YouTube, Qualcomm inadvertently confirmed both names (H/T @Za_Raczke on X).

At the 6:05 mark in the video, you can see a command prompt window with the text "W:\PROD\Pakala..." followed by "msm-kernel-sun...". Qualcomm even gives us a glimpse at the reference device being used to test the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 at 5:39. Unfortunately, that's all the video reveals about the upcoming mobile SoC and focuses more on the Snapdragon X Elite.

Now, it is entirely possible that Qualcomm left these details intentionally to tease the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which is arguably its most high-profile mobile AP because it ditches stock Arm cores for in-house Nuvia ones. Rumours about its performance are all over the place, with one report claiming it can trounce the Apple A18 Pro while others estimate a more conservative performance uplift. If reports about its alleged power draw are accurate, Qualcomm may have to sacrifice some performance to keep thermals in check.

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