Qualcomm has officially unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, its flagship mobile SoC, at the 2025 Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. Built on a cutting-edge 3nm process, the chip features the third-generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU with a 2+6 octa-core configuration: two Prime cores clocked at up to 4.6GHz and six Performance cores reaching 3.62GHz. This delivers a 20% year-over-year boost in CPU performance with 35% improved power efficiency compared to its predecessor.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 also sports a next-generation Adreno GPU that offers a 23% increase in overall graphics performance along with a 20% reduction in power consumption. It introduces Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM), featuring 18MB of dedicated cache, which boosts bandwidth, reduces latency for ultra-responsive gaming, and saves 10% power during gameplay. With full Unreal Engine 5 support, the chipset enables console-quality visuals and immersive gaming experiences on mobile devices.
AI capabilities see a significant upgrade with a 37% faster Hexagon Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and an enhanced Qualcomm Sensing Hub. This empowers agentic AI assistants capable of real-time, multimodal understanding—processing input from cameras and microphones—to deliver personalized, proactive recommendations while keeping data privacy by processing information on-device.
Imaging enhancements include Qualcomm’s Spectra AI ISP with triple 20-bit AI-ISPs and Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec support—the world’s first on a mobile platform—enabling near lossless-quality video capture and professional-grade video editing tools directly on smartphones.
Connectivity is powered by Qualcomm’s X85 5G Modem-RF system supporting 5G Advanced, mmWave, and sub-6 GHz bands with Wi-Fi 7 powered by the FastConnect 7900 chip, offering up to 40% power savings and 50% lower latency for gaming.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is confirmed to power flagship smartphones from major brands including Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Honor, and others, setting a new industry benchmark for mobile performance, AI, gaming, imaging, and connectivity in 2026.gsmarena+5
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