The Snapdragon 810 wasn’t the only CPU that Qualcomm released that had issues. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was also less than optimal. Unlike many of Qualcomm’s prior chips, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was fabricated by Samsung Foundry instead of one of Qualcomm’s other suppliers. With the chip almost as bad as the Snapdragon 810 and 808, it did lead to a less than optimal year for Android smartphones. Phones equipped with the chip included the Galaxy S22 series, Moto Edge 30, OnePlus 10 Pro, Asus ROG Phone 6s Pro, and most other flagship Android phones that launched in 2022.
The issue was similar to the Snapdragon 810: The chip ran hotter than expected, which caused throttling. Qualcomm refreshed the series with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which was made by TSMC. The new chip not only ran cooler, but was also more efficient, allowing for even better performance despite being similar in terms of specs. The two chips being released in the same year helped drive home how inefficient the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was.
Additionally, some phones had it worse than others. For example, there were plenty of reports of the Redmi 3 Pro having overheating issues with it. Some devices would drop as much as 40% in performance when gaming. While phones equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 are certainly still usable, you can get used Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones these days that run much better for a little more money.
