Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Chipset Review — Specifications and Benchmarks

Before the details: the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is no fundamental step forward from its predecessor the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1. It is nearly the same design with only a slight bump in the big cores' clock (from 2.2 to 2.4 GHz), keeping the same Adreno 710 GPU entirely unchanged.

Qualcomm even launched the chip "quietly" without an official press release on 2 September 2024, and its structure closely resembles the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 with some trims to the efficiency-core clocks and the supported display resolution.

That transparency matters, so the "Gen 3" name is not mistaken for a real generational leap.

Performance: a small improvement that serves everyday use only

The chip uses a dual-cluster, eight-core design: four Cortex-A78 cores at 2.4 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz.

Qualcomm claims 10% better CPU, 30% better graphics and 20% better AI than the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, but the actual numbers show the two generations extremely close.

Actual results: about 840,000–868,000 points in AnTuTu (although some devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy A36, recorded as little as 620,000 — showing how much the device's own design shapes the final score), with roughly 1,015–1,021 single-core and 2,910–2,920 multi-core points in Geekbench.

Perfectly acceptable numbers for everyday use (browsing, social media, YouTube), but far from the near-flagship tier.

GPU: enough for mid-weight games only

The chip uses the Adreno 710 (the same unit as the previous generation, unchanged) — enough to run popular games such as PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile and Mobile Legends at medium to medium-high settings with reasonable smoothness.

Heavier games such as Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves will run, but with clear compromises in graphics settings and frame rate, especially in long sessions.

AI: functional improvements, not a redesign

AI tasks run through the Qualcomm AI Engine (Hexagon NPU), with a 20% improvement in tasks such as call noise cancellation, activity tracking, voice assistants and smart camera enhancements.

As usual for this tier there is no officially published TOPS figure — the focus is on improving the everyday experience rather than advanced AI processing.

Memory, storage and connectivity: balanced mid-range specifications

The chip supports LPDDR4X and LPDDR5 memory at up to 3200 MHz (up to 12GB of RAM) with UFS 3.1 storage — though some manufacturers may pick the slower UFS 2.2 to cut costs.

On connectivity, it supports 5G (including mmWave) with theoretical download speeds up to 2.9 Gbps, plus Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 — a reasonably modern set that fits the mid-range price tier well.

Camera: good capability on paper

The chip carries a Spectra Triple ISP capturing from three cameras at once, with support for photos up to 200 MP and 4K HDR video at 30 fps — good specifications for the class, though the actual quality depends heavily on the phone maker's implementation.

Verdict

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is a dependable, practical mid-range chip that delivers a smooth everyday experience with modern 5G and a good camera pipeline — but no fundamental progress over the previous generation, despite the name.

Graphics remain limited for heavy games, and it is strongly advisable to pick a phone with 8GB of RAM or more and genuine UFS 3.1 storage (not UFS 2.2) to get the best this chip can offer.