Qualcomm’s Latest Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 Offers Performance Boost for Budget Smartphones

Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chips offer slight power-up for budget smartphones

Qualcomm has just unveiled its newest mobile platform designed for more affordable smartphones and devices: the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. This new chip promises improved overall performance, support for more vibrant displays, and a cool new feature for better video quality in dim lighting.

Compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (which powered phones like the Nothing 3a), this next-generation chipset offers a modest but noticeable seven percent improvement in both graphics (Qualcomm Adreno GPU) and general processing (Kryo CPU). The Gen 4 also boasts higher peak CPU speeds, reaching up to 2.7 GHz, a slight bump from the previous generation’s 2.5 GHz.

Beyond pure speed, Qualcomm has upgraded display support to include WFHD+ resolutions, meaning screens with a sharp 2,900 x 1,300 pixels and a buttery-smooth 144Hz refresh rate. A big win for budget phones is the inclusion of the Low Light Vision feature in the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. This technology, previously reserved for Qualcomm’s premium chips, helps capture much better video quality in dark environments.

The fourth-generation Snapdragon 7s chips also retain some impressive features from the prior model. This includes AI-powered capabilities for stunning 200-megapixel photos, Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ Technology that can power up a device from zero to 50 percent in just five minutes, and support for real-time translation and transcription across multiple languages.

While it’s a minor iteration on the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, which was announced last August, it’s a welcome upgrade for the budget smartphone market. Qualcomm hasn’t yet revealed which phone manufacturers will adopt this new chip, but it’s possible we’ll see it in upcoming devices from brands like Honor and Vivo, both of whom have previously utilized Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 series chips.