Qualcomm's "Snapdragon flagship" launch event scheduled for March 18 — Here's what we know

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By Madeline Ricchiuto
published

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 will be the star of the show

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
(Image credit: Qualcomm)
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Qualcomm is hosting a "Snapdragon flagship" launch event on March 18 according to a recent post on its Weibo page (via notebookcheck). The event will focus on an upcoming Snapdragon chipset.

 "The new Snapdragon flagship is about to be released, let's welcome the new year and new atmosphere together," Qualcomm stated.  The event will likely focus on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 though the official announcement was a bit vague about which chip we'll see launch. We could also have multiple product announcements during the event with Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 possibly making its debut as well.

What we can expect

Rumors indicate that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 will launch at the event next week, which also means we'll get at least one new device featuring that chipset. For those who are not neck-deep in Qualcomm chipsets, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is not the same chip as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 which has already launched in products like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. The 8s Gen 3 is rumored to have "flagship level" performance though it will have lower clock speeds than the 8G3, which will result in better battery life at the expense of performance on strenuous tasks. The chipset is rumored to be a mid-point between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 2. So it will likely feature in more budget-friendly smartphones.

The 8s Gen 3 launch product is expected to be the Xiaomi Civi 4 according to industry chatter. Of course, the Xiamo Civi 4 won't be available stateside, but we could very well see the 8s Gen 3 come to one of the Samsung A-series phones later this year.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 is also slated for a launch sometime soon, so while it the 8s Gen 3 is likely the star of the show next week we could very well see the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 launch alongside the 8s. If the 7+ Gen 3 makes an appearance, it is rumored to launch with the Xiaomi Poco F6.

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Madeline Ricchiuto
Madeline Ricchiuto
Staff Writer

A former lab gremlin for Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, and Tech Radar; Madeline has escaped the labs to join Laptop Mag as a Staff Writer. With over a decade of experience writing about tech and gaming, she may actually know a thing or two. Sometimes. When she isn't writing about the latest laptops and AI software, Madeline likes to throw herself into the ocean as a PADI scuba diving instructor and underwater photography enthusiast.