Qualcomm has yet to finalize the release date of the 4th-gen Snapdragon 8cx
Since August 2022, Qualcomm has been engaged in the development and testing of its fourth-generation Snapdragon 8cx, and earlier this year, it even made an appearance in the Geekbench 5 benchmark test. It is rumored that the future fourth-generation Snapdragon 8cx will be employed in small-sized notebook computers, two-in-one devices, or tablet computers.
Recently, it was revealed by Twitter user @Ravi_711 that Qualcomm’s 4th-gen Snapdragon 8cx is “in the commercial preparation stage,” although no specific release date has been determined. Qualcomm is on the brink of unveiling the third-generation Snapdragon 8, with rumors suggesting an imminent announcement for the event, and the launch is expected to be held in late October of this year. However, there has not been much content surrounding the fourth-generation Snapdragon 8cx during this period.
Apple is poised to release the M3 this year, and new Mac models equipped with the new chip will also be launched, further widening the gap with its competitors. If Windows notebooks featuring the fourth-generation Snapdragon 8cx are launched in the second half of 2024, then the price will become a crucial factor in determining their competitiveness. Nevertheless, based on Qualcomm’s past pricing strategy, it is anticipated that there won’t be significant concessions in the purchasing price of the new chip.
The rumored codename for the 4th-gen Snapdragon 8cx is “Hamoa,” and it may be manufactured using TSMC’s 4nm process. The CPU section possesses 12 cores, including 8 performance cores with a maximum frequency of up to 3.4GHz, and 4 custom-designed power-efficient cores with a top frequency of 2.5GHz. The GPU, taking inspiration from the Adreno 740, supports DirectX 12, OpenCL/DirectML, and Vulkan 1.3, and is equipped with an AV1 encoder/decoder. In addition, it supports LPDDR5X-4200 memory with a maximum capacity of 64GB, and also accommodates NVMe, UFS 4.0, Wi-Fi 7, and the Snapdragon X65 5G modem. It can even utilize a Thunderbolt 4 connection for an external independent graphics card.
