What the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 could mean for the best cheap Android phones

Smartphone chip maker Qualcomm recently revealed the latest weapon in its growing chipset arsenal, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. 

While not quite as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite found in 2025 flagship phones, it’s not that far off – an impressive feat for a chipset aimed at more affordable smartphones. 

But what could this mean for future mid-rangers? With better performance and better access to high-end features like on-device AI and support for high-res cameras, the best mid-range phones could be about to get way better.

More ‘flagship killers’ are on the way

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 isn’t on the same level as the top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite, but it’s not that far off either. 

It’s a follow-up to last year’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, and offers quite the jump in performance across the board – though it doesn’t feature the Oryon CPU architecture that makes the top-end 8 Elite so powerful.

Still, going by last year’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 found in phones like the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra, you should expect near-flagship-level benchmark results from this year’s upgraded model. 

According to Qualcomm itself, this year’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 offers a not-insignificant 31% boost in the CPU department and an impressive 49% jump in the GPU department, complete with support for premium features like real-time ray-tracing – a feature previously exclusive to the top-end flagship chipset.  

Combined, this should translate to not only a smoother everyday experience but better performance when playing games, particularly graphics-heavy 3D titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact that demand a lot of power. 

That’s paired with a 39% improvement in overall power efficiency, which should deliver a marked improvement in overall battery performance from phones that use the chipset going forward. 

This all essentially means that mid-rangers could soon more readily compete with their flagship brethren in the performance department – one of the few remaining big differences between mid-rangers and their more premium equivalents. 

That’s not all the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 could represent for affordable Android phones, however. 

The democratisation of premium features

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 isn’t all about performance – even if it is the main draw of the phone. It also brings previously flagship-level features down to slightly more affordable phones. 

That includes the biggest feature in the mobile world right now: AI. Last year’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 also allowed for on-device AI processing, but this year’s model offers a faster NPU and increased memory that Qualcomm claims delivers a 44% boost to AI processing. 

This should translate not only to more on-device AI features in mid-rangers, which is great for privacy, but also faster performance when performing AI-powered tasks like photo editing. 

There’s also the potential for better cameras in the mid-range market, with the chipset supporting up to 320MP cameras. It also features support for real-time semantic segmentation, which can essentially split your image into 250 different layers and process them individually for a better overall look, along with real-time skin and sky tone correction. 

Gaming could get even better, not only because of the performance gains but also because of support for features like Qualcomm’s Adaptive Performance Engine and Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0, which use AI to boost the frame rate of supported games. AI can also be used to upscale lower-resolution game scenes to something closer to 4K for a more premium look. 

Mid-rangers are about to get way more tempting

Simply put, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 could be a game-changer for the mid-range smartphone market, depending on how many manufacturers choose to adopt the chipset. 

The improved performance and battery efficiency should close the gap between mid-rangers and flagships, potentially saving consumers hundreds by not opting for a flagship that could easily cost more than £1000/$1000. 

Plus, the introduction of previously flagship features like on-device AI support, real-time ray-tracing, and more further pushes the boundaries of what a sub-£600 phone can do. 

We could soon see a slew of affordable devices that offer a near-premium experience without the associated price tag, and that’s fantastic news for consumers.

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