Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2: Next-generation SoC's Cortex-X3 core could boost as high as 3.5 GHz

Qualcomm's next-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile AP is expected to arrive before its predecessors- between November 15 and 17, to be precise. Despite being weeks away from launch, it has yet to show up on any benchmarking platforms. Everything we know about the SoC so far comes from scattered leaks. Weibo's Digital Chat Station has been a reliable source and now, the leaker has more information about the chipset.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 could push its "Prime" (Cortex-X3) CPU core to 3.4-3.5 GHz, putting it on par with Apple's newly-announced A16 Bionic. There may be two variants of the SoC, one with higher boost clocks. That statement, however, could be referring to its successor, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 (tentative), because it makes little sense to launch two differently-specced products together, especially in the mobile AP space.

ARM's Cortex-X CPU cores have been notoriously power-hungry for as long as they've been around. This could prove troublesome for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 because pushing a CPU to 3.5 GHz will require some seriously beefy cooling mechanism. Previous reports also suggested that Qualcomm wanted to focus on efficiency in this generation so the aforementioned clock speeds could be readjusted to achieve that goal.

Digital Chat Station adds that even MediaTek is putting all of its eggs in the CPU basked, indicating that the Dimensity 9000's successor could also feature blazing-fast boost clocks. MediaTek's bane has always been its ARM-manufactured GPU. It will likely hold back the company for yet another generation. Qualcomm has lined up major improvements for the Adreno 730's next of kin.

While these improvements will be well-received by fans and OEMs alike, besting Apple in this space is no easy feat, especially in single-core performance. Qualcomm could take Apple's laid-back approach with the A16 Bionic to close the ever-widening gap between their flagship products. Apple has always had access to cutting-edge manufacturing nodes. That advantage no longer exists because both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and A16 Bionic are manufactured on the same TSMC N4 process.

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