Flexible payments from 0% interest. Shop with Atome now.
Flexible payments from 0% interest. Shop with Atome now.
Throughout the years, technology has maintained a steady race to innovation with each new generation of products. For the smartphone sector, these changes have sped up to match the release of new and exciting devices and features. Now, Qualcomm is set to release its latest chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and everyone is on the edge of their seats to see what it has in store. In this blog article, we examine the facts and rumors surrounding the launch of the new chipset and its potential impact on smartphone users worldwide. First, let’s look at what Snapdragon processors are and how far they’ve come.
Snapdragon: A Processing Icon
Qualcomm established itself as a wireless technology and telecommunications provider in the 1980s and soon set out to make history with the advent of smartphones later on. The first Snapdragon chipset, QSD8250, was released in 2007 and featured a single-core 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, which was a novelty at the time. With the rise of smartphones and innovative technology, Snapdragon quickly became the most prolific name in high-performance mobile processing, powering billions of devices around the world.
Today, Qualcomm Snapdragon processors are behind some of the top smartphone brands and tech devices in the industry. This is why REDMAGIC has always trusted the power behind Snapdragon to elevate our devices, ensuring superior speeds, seamless performance, and a premium experience every time. Now, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is on the horizon, and we’re ready to get in gear.
According to the company, Snapdragon was built for “seamless performance across the range, keeping your phone in sync with everything you do.” Today, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is in the big leagues of processing, with a custom Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU and AI-powered optimization that ensures that every task runs faster, feels sharper, and responds smarter compared to the previous generation. Now, a new age is upon us in processing excellence with the next iteration.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Every year, Qualcomm hosts its Snapdragon Summit, in which the company makes announcements, shares plans, and provides demonstrations. Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon announced during his COMPUTEX 2025 keynote address that this year’s event will take place from the 23rd to the 25th of September, moving up by nearly a month compared to the 2024 edition.
One of the main highlights expected at the summit is the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, which is rumored to have improved performance and GPU specs. The SoC will be the direct successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Elite, which were launched in 2024. REDMAGIC has already made use of the 8 Elite chipset in our REDMAGIC 10S Pro and Astra gaming tablet to enhance processing speed, elevate performance, and ensure optimization across every facet.
The new 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset is expected to retain Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU architecture while adopting TSMC’s cutting-edge N3P fabrication process, offering a balance of power efficiency and raw performance. Now, let’s look at some of the key rumors floating around about the new chipset before we can confirm any details after the summit.
Release Date
In an April article by GSM Arena, the release of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 was speculated to be in October 2025. Now, with the summit a few weeks away, we can easily state that this would probably be the case, especially considering the earlier summit dates.
Performance Speculations and Leaks
Another leak showed the Geekbench 6 results from a Galaxy S26 Edge running the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, obtaining single-core and multi-core scores of 3,393 and 11,515, respectively. A closer look at the clock speeds shows that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s performance cores were running at 4.00 GHz. The new chip is also rumored to use second-generation Oryon CPU Cores, which will increase performance by about 25%.
The initial article does state, however, that Geekbench 6 is not designed for measuring sustained performance, meaning that the scores you see above are what the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is capable of achieving in a short amount of time and are not indicative of thermal throttling.
AnTuTu Leaks
Earlier this year, a leak by Digital Chat Station on Weibo showed the alleged AnTuTu results of the new 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset. The report showed that the SoC scored a massive 3.8 million, making the results 40.7% higher than what the iQOO 13 - the fastest Android smartphone tested on the benchmark suite - has managed on AnTuTu’s leaderboards. This is also significantly higher than the 8 Elite scores.
A Name in Progress
After the release of the 8 Elite chipset, it seemed only natural that this new chipset from Snapdragon would be named the 8 Elite Gen 5 or 8 Elite 5. However, a new rumor speculates that Qualcomm could opt for naming it the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 instead. While somewhat confusing at first, there are reasonable explanations behind the potential new name: the 8 Elite chipset came out after the 8 Gen 3, which technically makes it the Gen 4 chipset in the Snapdragon lineup, and makes the new chipset number 5.
ITC speculates that another reason for the name change could be that Qualcomm is expected to announce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 as a more affordable version with more simplified features soon, and that the company may also release the Snapdragon 8S Gen 5 to complete its 2026 lineup. However, these are still unverified claims and rumors for now.
Architectural Changes
Another expected change in the new Snapdragon chipset comes from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is expected to switch to the 2-nm process only next year. ITC noted that 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.
They also reported that, in terms of CPU architecture, the new chipset will maintain its “2+6” core format, and users could expect a frequency of 4.61 GHz for the performance cores and the same 3.63 GHz for the energy-efficient cores. The Snapdragon 8 Elite had frequencies of 4.32 GHz and 3.53 GHz, respectively. On the other hand, the Adreno 840 GPU default clock speed is 1.20GHz, which is up from Adreno 830’s 1.10GHz.
Cache and Speed Expansion
The cache size on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is also rumored to be much larger. While the 8 Elite featured 12MB of L2 and L3 cache, totaling 24MB, this new chipset could feature 16MB of L2 and L3 cache, reaching 32MB. The chip is also set to be more than twice as fast as a notebook-class silicon, according to rumors that it might deliver 100TOPS of processing speeds. For reference, the Snapdragon X Elite’s NPU can reach a maximum speed of 45TOPS.
Better Frame Rates
According to rumors reported by Wccftech, tipster Digital Chat Station also claimed that the new Snapdragon chipset featured a similar power consumption metric as the 8 Elite, while delivering better graphics and power optimization. Another rumor stated that Qualcomm’s goal is to reduce the overall wattage to 5W, reducing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s heat generation while contributing to better battery life.
Sourced from Wccftech
However, no game titles were mentioned in these tips, and the rumor contained no further information to form a solid overview. For now, all we can do is speculate and look towards the future for updates and confirmed details.
And Now We Wait
At the end of the day, these are all simply rumors and speculation about the new chipset, and we just have to wait until the official launch to see if there is any substance to them. However, you can count on the integrity of Qualcomm Snapdragon processors to always push the bar higher when it comes to providing faster, more efficient, and more reliable performance.
This is why REDMAGIC is proud to partner with such a prestigious brand to give our fans the best processing power and features available, as soon as possible. The new Snapdragon chipset is beckoning a new future in smartphone processing technology, and REDMAGIC is ready to join in on the fight.
Best Sellers
REDMAGIC 10 Air
REDMAGIC 10 Air Gaming Smartphone
Experience next-level gaming with the REDMAGIC 10 Air, powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and enhanced with RedCore R3 and Energy Cube Technology. Stay cool with ICE-X 9-layer cooling and liquid metal tech, and game longer with a 6,000mAh battery and 80W fast charging. Enjoy ultra-smooth visuals on a 6.8" 120Hz display, precise control with 520Hz shoulder triggers, and immersive sound with DTS: X-certified speakers. Capture every moment with dual 50MP cameras and get smart assistance from Google Gemini AI.
- Regular price
- From S$ 779.00
- Sale price
- From S$ 779.00
- Regular price
-
S$ 779.00 - Unit price
- per
REDMAGIC 10S Pro
Featuring a powerful chipset Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version, ICE-X Cooling with Liquid Metal 2.0, vapor chamber, and a 23,000 RPM turbo fan, it keeps your gameplay smooth and cool. Dominate with a 6.8” 144Hz 1.5K display, 520Hz RGB shoulder triggers, and AI-powered features by Google Gemini. Enjoy marathon sessions with a 7,050mAh battery and 80W fast charging. Built for serious gamers, this is your next elite gaming phone. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. Undisputed.
- Regular price
- From S$ 999.00
- Sale price
- From S$ 999.00
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- per
