Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite was only an intermediate step in Qualcomm’s plans for future flagship mobile processors. After integrating its own Oryon cores into the current generation of SoCs, the company is preparing its successor. Interestingly, the new chip will not be called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 or Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. According to previous leaks, Qualcomm will present the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor on September 23. However, many details are already known before the official premiere.
It would seem more logical to call the new product Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2. However, Qualcomm decided otherwise. Thus, the company is making the lineup even more confusing, although such decisions are usually driven by the desire to unify the naming scheme. In addition to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the company is expected to announce Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 — a more affordable version with somewhat simplified features. Next year, the company may also release the Snapdragon 8s Gen 5 to complete the 2026 lineup.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 specifications
TSMC is expected to switch to the 2-nm process only next year. In 2025, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be produced on the 3nm N3P process, which is a slight improvement over the 3nm N3E of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. N3P promises +5% performance at the same power consumption level or 5-10% power savings at the same frequencies.
The CPU architecture will remain in the “2+6” core format. The Geekbench 6 leak showed that the Galaxy S26 Edge had two productive cores running at 4.74 GHz and six energy-efficient cores running at 3.63 GHz. This is probably a special version for Samsung. In the regular version, you can expect a frequency of 4.61 GHz for the performance cores and the same 3.63 GHz for the energy-efficient cores. For comparison: Snapdragon 8 Elite had frequencies of 4.32 GHz and 3.53 GHz, respectively.
The graphics subsystem also received higher frequencies. The Adreno 840 GPU operates at 1.20 GHz, while the Adreno 830 was limited to 1.10 GHz.
In addition to higher frequencies, there are architectural changes. Qualcomm will increase the cache memory. If Snapdragon 8 Elite had 12 MB L2+L3 (24 MB in total), then Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 can get 16 MB (32 MB in total).
As for the NPU, performance of 100 TOPS is expected. For comparison, the Snapdragon X Elite laptop has a maximum of 45 TOPS. If the data is confirmed, the new mobile SoC will be more than twice as fast as the laptop-oriented chip.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performance
The leak from Galaxy S26 Edge also showed interesting results. Even with a lowered performance core frequency of 4.00 GHz, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 demonstrated results in Geekbench 6 that were on par or even better than its predecessor.
Rumors also suggest significantly better gaming performance with lower power consumption. However, other insiders say that the power consumption may remain about the same, but performance will still increase depending on specific scenarios.
In AnTuTu, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scored over 4 million points, which is significantly higher than the fastest smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Elite.
So, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 promises to be an important step forward for mobile chips. A slight upgrade of the process technology is combined with a noticeable increase in CPU frequencies, a more productive GPU, increased cache, and an incredibly fast NPU. If all this proves to be true in practice, the new processor will not only speed up games and applications, but also open up a new level of possibilities for AI on smartphones (which few people need).
Source: wccftech
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