When it comes to the best phones, two brands have done battle for years. When looking at the top of the pile, you'll traditionally find iPhones and Samsung phones going head-to-head.
Which you determine to be the better option will often come down to personal preference more than specs. Occasionally, though, one does pull ahead of the other in one area or another.
That happened last year, when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset powering the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offered faster GPU performance than the A16 Bionic in the iPhone 14 Pro Max. And now, that trend looks set to continue.
Reports have emerged suggesting that the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could sport a GPU that is 50% faster than the Gen 2. If true, that would be insanely powerful. I've been able to use a couple of devices with the 8 Gen 2 and the performance is already fantastic, so a further boost would be extraordinary.
Apple is also making upgrades, though. The A17 Bionic chipset is rumoured to be the first 3nm processor in an Apple phone, which should improve efficiency and, by extension, battery life.
Whether the GPU gets a boost as part of that remains to be seen. It's fair to say that GPU-intensive tasks like mobile gaming are more popular on Android phones than the iPhone, so it may be less of a concern for Apple. They have been pushing their gaming content lately though.
Personally, I think the upgrade will be great for the phone market in general, offering greater competition in the process. The 8 Gen 3 is expected to launch towards the end of this year, with the first handsets featuring the chip launching soon after and throughout 2024.
