Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for next-gen Android flagships

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 debuts with a faster Oryon CPU, an upgraded Hexagon NPU for personalised AI, power efficiency gains, and new APV video recording support

US-based chip maker Qualcomm has launched its next-generation flagship Snapdragon 8-series chip for premium Android smartphones. As revealed earlier, the new system-on-chip (SoC) is called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and features the third-generation Oryon CPU (central processing unit) that delivers stronger single-core and multi-core performance. It also features an upgraded Hexagon NPU (neural processing unit) aimed at delivering faster, more personalised on-device AI experiences.

How does the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 compare to the Snapdragon 8 Elite?

According to Qualcomm, the third-generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU that powers the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 offers 20 per cent better performance compared to the last-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite. Similarly, GPU (graphic processing unit) performance has been improved by 23 per cent. The NPU on the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is also 37 per cent faster than the last-generation for improved on-device AI performance. 

 

 

Efficiency has also improved. The CPU is said to consume 35 per cent less power, while the GPU uses 20 per cent less energy, which should translate into longer battery life for smartphones powered by the new chipset. 

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What is new with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5?

The Hexagon NPU in the new platform integrates more AI accelerators, working alongside the Qualcomm Sensing Hub to enable agentic AI features. These advancements allow smartphones to deliver more tailored AI interactions and even handle tasks independently on behalf of the user.

 

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 also debuts as the first mobile platform to support Advanced Professional Video (APV) Codec recording, unlocking professional-grade video capture with greater flexibility for post-production editing.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 specifications

What smartphones will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip?

China’s Xiaomi has already confirmed that its Xiaomi 17 series will be among the first smartphones powered by the new chip. Qualcomm also revealed that upcoming flagship models from several brands will adopt the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, including:

• Honor
• iQOO
• Nubia
• OnePlus
• OPPO
• POCO
• Realme
• REDMI
• RedMagic
• Asus ROG
• Samsung
• Sony
• Vivo
• Xiaomi
• ZTE