A new tweet from a well-known leaker who goes by the name of @TheGalox_alt (via Wccftech) has revealed that Qualcomm has been working on two distinct versions of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset, which is the processor that will power the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra flagship phone in all regions, as well as the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ in the U.S. and China. However, this article will focus on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy variant that will be used for the Galaxy S24 Ultra model only.
According to @TheGalox_alt, the two Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy variants differ in the clock speed of their Cortex-X4 Prime Core, which is the most powerful core in the octa-core configuration. One variant has the Cortex-X4 Prime Core running at a whopping 3.4GHz, while the other has it running at a slightly lower 3.3GHz. The leaker claims that the Galaxy S24 Ultra units that will be sold in the U.S. and Korea, which are marked by Samsung as markets “U” and “N” respectively, will feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy variant with the 3.3GHz Cortex-X4 Prime Core.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S24 Ultra units that will be shipped to region “B” will have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy variant with the faster 3.4GHz Cortex-X4 Prime Core. However, the leaker did not specify what market “B” stands for. We can assume that it refers to the markets outside of the U.S. and China, where the Galaxy S24 Ultra will use the Exynos 2200 chipset instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy.
The leaker also suggests that U.S. consumers should not be concerned about this difference in clock speed, as it is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on the performance or user experience of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Moreover, the leaker warns that the higher clock speed of the Cortex-X4 Prime Core could also lead to thermal issues, which could force the device to throttle down and lose any potential advantage over the slower variant.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset is expected to be a beast of a processor, as it is based on the 4nm process and features the new Armv9 architecture. It also boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU, which is said to support ray tracing and variable rate shading, as well as a Hexagon 770 AI engine, which can deliver up to 26 TOPS of AI performance. The chipset also supports up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, up to 1TB of UFS 3.1 storage, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and 5G connectivity.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is rumored to be the most premium and feature-packed phone in the Galaxy S24 series, which also includes the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is said to sport a 6.8-inch LTPO OLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a QHD+ resolution. It is also expected to have a quad-camera setup on the back, which could include a 108MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, a 10MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom, and a 10MP periscope sensor with 10x optical zoom. The Galaxy S24 Ultra could also have a 40MP selfie camera, a 5000mAh battery with 45W fast charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, an in-display fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, IP68 water and dust resistance, and S Pen support.
Samsung is set to unveil the Galaxy S24 series on January 17th during its first Unpacked event of the year. The event will start at 10 am PST/1 pm EST. The pre-orders for the Galaxy S24 series are expected to begin on the same day. Samsung is also offering a $50 credit for those who reserve a Galaxy S24 unit from its website and purchase it later. The credit can be used to buy accessories or other products from Samsung.