Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s Performance Raises Heat & Power Concerns

The Galaxy S25 Ultra‘s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor is expected to push performance boundaries like never before. However, Qualcomm’s emphasis on raw power may come with notable drawbacks. Early tests have hinted at significant heat generation and increased power consumption, raising potential concerns.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 promises unmatched performance, but at what cost?

Over the past few weeks, we have spotted three Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 variants in benchmarks. The standard version appears to have a base frequency of 2.78GHz and a peak frequency of 4.09GHz. Samsung is testing two overclocked versions for the Galaxy S25 series, one with speeds of 2.90GHz and 4.19GHz and the other with speeds of 3.53GHz and 4.47GHz.

It’s unclear if the commercial S25 units will run the faster overclocked version or slower or both depending on the market. However, an early test suggests even the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 might be too hot and power-hungry. A report shared on X says the chip’s power draw exceeded 20W and its temperature reached 98.5°C / 209.5°F in normal usage.

No matter how much they throttled the chip, the user couldn’t lower its power usage or temperature. Its ultra-fast CPU cores require high power and generate a huge amount of heat in no time. What’s particularly concerning about this finding is that it allegedly comes from an official version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. But on the bright side, it’s the first official version from three months ago.

Qualcomm must have optimized the chip to improve its power and heat management. It launches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 later this month. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to run the chip globally. The base S25 and S25+ might get the Dimensity 9400 or Exynos 2500 in some regions, or maybe both. We should get a clearer picture in the coming weeks as Samsung readies the new flagships.