Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The first non-Samsung phone with Qualcomm’s overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is coming soon.
- The REDMAGIC 8S Pro will indeed use the so-called Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Leading Version.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is the most powerful Android phone processor of 2023 in many ways, bringing a beefy CPU setup and top-notch GPU. However, Samsung scored a big win when it gained an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (dubbed Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy) for its Galaxy S23 series.
It’s taken a while, but it looks like this overclocked SoC is finally available to other smartphone manufacturers. Gaming brand REDMAGIC confirmed on Weibo that the so-called Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Leading Version will be available on the upcoming REDMAGIC 8S Pro.
The smartphone brand revealed that it has the same 3.36GHz CPU clock speed as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. By comparison, the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor tops out at 3.2GHz. We’re guessing that the overclocked variant found in the REDMAGIC 8S Pro will also see the same GPU boost (from 680MHz to 719MHz) as the Samsung chip.
It’s worth noting that the overclocked processor isn’t a game-changing upgrade over the standard chipset. Our own testing showed that you can expect minor single-core CPU and GPU boosts, but you’re still getting a ton of horsepower no matter which processor you choose.
In saying so, we thought the Galaxy S23 Ultra delivered poor sustained performance compared to the REDMAGIC 8 Pro and its superior cooling solution. So we’re curious to see what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Leading Version can do when paired with REDMAGIC’s cooling tech.
