At the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii, Qualcomm officially unveiled its new flagship processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (SM8850-AC). Billed as the “world’s fastest mobile SoC”, this next-gen chipset succeeds last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and pushes big improvements in performance, efficiency, and AI.
Power and Performance
Built on a 3nm process, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 brings the third-generation Oryon CPU, delivering:
- 20% more CPU performance
- 35% better power efficiency
The octa-core design follows a 2+6 setup:
- 2 Prime cores running up to 4.6 GHz
- 6 performance cores clocked at 3.62 GHz
Graphics and Gaming
Qualcomm didn’t disclose the GPU’s official name in its press kit, but performance figures are clear:
- 23% faster graphics rendering
- 20% lower power draw
- 25% better ray tracing
For gamers, that translates to roughly 1 hour and 48 minutes more playtime compared to the previous generation. With full Unreal Engine 5 support, features like Tile Memory Heap and Mesh Shading optimize memory and geometry handling, bringing console-level visuals to mobile devices.
Smarter AI Everywhere
AI takes center stage in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The updated Hexagon NPU runs 37% faster, while the enhanced Qualcomm Sensing Hub supports on-device agentic AI assistants.
This means your device can continuously learn, adapt, and provide context-aware recommendations, all while keeping your data on-device for privacy.
Cameras and Imaging
Photography and video also see major upgrades with the Spectra AI ISP. It comes with:
- Triple 20-bit AI-ISPs
- Support for the new Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec — a first for smartphones
The APV format promises high-end video capture that rivals professional equipment, opening the door to advanced content creation on mobile.
Qualcomm confirmed that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will soon power new devices from major global brands, including Xiaomi, Samsung, Sony, Asus, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Honor, vivo, iQOO, ZTE, nubia, and RedMagic.
The first wave of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 smartphones is set to launch in the coming days.
