Rebranding confirmed: Qualcomm will release Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 instead of Snapdragon 8 Elite 2
Qualcomm has officially confirmed the name of its future flagship mobile processor - Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The novelty will be presented at the annual Snapdragon Summit event, which will be held from 23 to 25 September 2025.
Here's What We Know
At first glance, the name may seem confusing - after all, the previous chip was called Snapdragon 8 Elite and it was assumed that the subsequent one will be called 8 Elite 2. However, Qualcomm clarified that Gen 5 refers to the fifth generation of the premium Snapdragon 8 series platforms. This decision is meant to simplify the understanding of the lineup and emphasise the evolution of the architecture.
It may seem like we're skipping a generation, but it's actually simpler than that. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 marks the fifth generation of our premium 8 Series platforms since we introduced a new unambiguous name and visual identity <...> So while the name may seem new, it actually continues our established system.
Which devices will get the new chip?
Xiaomi has already confirmed that the Xiaomi 17 series will be built on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The Samsung Galaxy S26 will also get this processor, possibly in a special version for Galaxy. The OnePlus 15 and other flagships from Xiaomi, Honor, iQOO and Realme are expected to follow suit.
What we know about Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5:
- 3nm process technology from TSMC;
- custom Oryon cores up to 4.61 GHz;
- 1.2 GHz Adreno 840 GPU;
- increased cache memory capacity: up to 32MB;
- record scores in AnTuTu: 4.2-4.4 million points.
Special attention is paid to the Hexagon neural processor, which will allow running large AI models locally on the device - without connecting to the cloud.
Source: Qualcomm
