Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm’s current high-end chip for Android flagships. This year, we’ll see its successor in action, possibly called the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2. Besides this, there have been reports of a sub-flagship game changer in the form of Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. This could power more affordable flagship phones while offering “Elite-like” performance. A new leak now sheds more light on how Qualcomm’s flagship chip lineup will pan out this year.
Qualcomm may unveil two high-end chips this year, including Snapdragon 8 Gen 5
Prolific leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo says the Qualcomm SM8845, which is tipped to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, is not an iteration of the SM8735 (namely, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4). Nor will it be a rebadge of any existing Snapdragon 8s series chip. Qualcomm is apparently positioning the new chip within the Snapdragon 8 series. The hardware will share the same TSMC N3P processor as the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2.
The SoC may support the SME (Scalable Matrix Extension) for on-device AI acceleration. It could also have Qualcomm’s in-house Oryon CPU. But then it’s not clear if it’ll be the same Oryon cores as the original Snapdragon 8 Elite or if it will use the improved ones inside the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. Digital Chat Station says many Android manufacturers have already made plans for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC.
Phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 could cost up to $350
The leaker previously said that the phones with the new sub-flagship SoC will be priced between $280-$350, which falls in the mid-range segment. If this pans out for real, phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 should be an incredible value for your money and could be segment-leading. This is considering the “ core experience will be close to flagship models .”
Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 will power most flagships coming out in 2026, including the Galaxy S26 series. If leaks are anything to go by, the chip is turning out to be quite powerful . Qualcomm will unveil its latest tech on September 23rd, and we should know more then.
