Qualcomm Adds Two New Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Variants with Fewer Cores

Qualcomm has quietly introduced two new binned variants of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, known as SM8650-Q-AA and SM8650-Q-AB. While these aren’t groundbreaking new processors, they’re tweaked versions of the existing flagship chipset with slightly downgraded CPU configurations – making them a cost-effective option for mid-premium devices.

The standout difference? Both chips drop from the original’s eight-core setup to a six-core layout.

The SM8650-Q-AB features a prime Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.3GHz, four Cortex-A720 performance cores at 2.96GHz, and a single efficiency-focused Cortex-A520 core at 2.27GHz. The SM8650-Q-AA shares the same core arrangement, but its prime core is underclocked further to 3.0GHz.

Interestingly, both versions retain the Adreno 750 GPU and are built on the same 4nm process as the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, suggesting Qualcomm isn’t compromising graphics performance even if CPU horsepower takes a slight dip.

A recent Geekbench 6 listing of a Lenovo tablet (model TB710FU) revealed what appears to be the SM8650-Q-AB in action. Despite fewer cores, it still uses the familiar Pineapple code name and holds up decently in benchmarks, pointing to solid real-world performance.

These additions join an already crowded Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 family, which includes the regular version used in most 2024 flagships, the overclocked “for Galaxy” edition, and the underclocked SM8650-AA found in phones like the Honor 400 Pro. Qualcomm is clearly embracing the ‘more SKUs, more options’ approach – offering flexibility to manufacturers even if it borders on confusing for consumers.

Ultimately, this move gives brands a way to cut costs while still boasting a ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’ badge – even if what’s under the hood is a trimmed-down version.