Samsung reportedly plans to launch at least four new foldable phones this year. And at least some of them are expected to feature a new version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that Qualcomm has just revealed.
Galaxy Z Flip 7, Fold 7 could use Snapdragon 8 Elite's cut-down version
Qualcomm has silently listed a new version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip (SM8750-3-AB) on its website. Some reports claim that it is made specifically for foldable and ultra-thin phones.
It is a 3nm chip fabricated on TSMC's N3E process node. It has a 7-core CPU with two prime cores running at up to 4.32 GHz and five high-performance cores running at up to 3.53GHz. Compared to the original Snapdragon 8 Elite, it is missing one high-performance core. It is likely a lower-binned version that will cost less.
Moreover, since the new chip has one CPU core disabled, it will generate less heat and would be better suited to be used in ultra-slim and foldable smartphones. It could be used in the Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Fold 7, and maybe even the Galaxy S25 Slim. However, one report claimed that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will exclusively use the Exynos 2500 chip.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 are expected to go official in mid-2025, while the Galaxy S25 Slim could launch in May this year.
Snapdragon 8 Elite (SM8750-3-AB) specifications
It also features the Adreno 830 GPU with support for HDR gaming, ray-tracing, AI-powered frame upscaling (Game Super Resolution), and AI-powered frame generation (Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.1).
It can drive on-device screens with QHD+ resolution at up to 240Hz and 4K screens at up to 60Hz. It can also drive external displays with up to 8K resolution at 30Hz and 1080p resolution at 240Hz. It also supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG.
The built-in ISP supports up to 320MP camera sensors. It can capture frames from a 108MP camera with zero shutter lag. It can also concurrently capture full-resolution frames from up to three 48MP camera sensors with zero shutter lag. It supports up to 4K 120fps video recording and 8K 30fps video recording.
The ISP supports video recording in HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision formats. The NPU inside the chip uses AI to reduce noise, improve details, and perform semantic segmentation for things like background blur.
This cut-down version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite supports up to 24GB LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. It has a built-in 5G modem that supports mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G networks (SA and NSA). The modem supports download speeds of up to 10Gbps and upload speeds of up to 3.5Gbps.
The chip has built-in connectivity features like Bluetooth 6.0 (with LE Audio and aptX Lossless), Wi-Fi 7, UWB, and GNSS (GPS, Glonass, NavIC, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS).
