If you’ve been watching Qualcomm’s processors, you’ve probably noticed a pattern—Snapdragon 6 series chips are often just slightly underclocked versions of their Snapdragon 7 series counterparts. A good example is the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, which closely mirrors the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 but with a slower CPU and GPU.
The newly announced Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 follows the same trend, essentially being a toned-down version of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. While it may not have the same raw power, this approach keeps costs down while still delivering solid performance for mid-range devices.
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
Digging into the specs, the 6 Gen 4 and 7s Gen 3 are nearly identical, especially regarding CPU layout. The biggest difference? Clock speeds. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4’s Cortex-A720 prime core runs at 2.3GHz instead of 2.5GHz, while its performance cores max out at 2.2GHz instead of 2.4GHz.
As for the GPU, Qualcomm didn’t share exact numbers, but it’s safe to assume it’s also underclocked. The only official claim is a “29% performance increase” over the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3—though that chip saw little use in actual smartphones.
Aside from the lower clock speeds, the 6 Gen 4 still packs solid features. It supports LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1 storage, and Full HD+ displays with up to a 144Hz refresh rate. For cameras, it can handle up to a 200-megapixel single sensor (or 64MP with zero shutter lag) and shoot 4K HDR video at 30fps.
It also supports on-device AI tasks like text summarization, though Qualcomm hasn’t specified the RAM requirement for smooth performance. Plus, it retains Quick Charge 4+ for faster battery top-ups.
Qualcomm has confirmed that brands like realme, OPPO, and HONOR will be among the first to use the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 in upcoming devices. We can expect to see these phones hit the market in the next few months.
If the pricing is competitive, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 could shape up to be a solid alternative to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, offering a balance of performance and efficiency for mid-range devices.
