Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: everything we know before the announcement
By ForGeeks
Qualcomm is preparing to unveil its new flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor as early as September 23 at Snapdragon Summit. The chip will be the successor to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and will bring notable performance and power efficiency gains. Thanks to leaks and early tests, we already know what to expect from the new product.
Unusual name
The company has decided to name the processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This seems counterintuitive: after Snapdragon 8 Elite, a sequel in the form of “Gen 2” or at least “Elite Gen 4” was expected. But Qualcomm went back to the usual generational scheme: Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, then Snapdragon 8 Elite (actually the fourth generation), and now the fifth.
Besides the older model, the more affordable Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 could be unveiled at the summit. More simplified variants of the lineup are expected in 2026.
CPU and GPU architecture
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will remain on TSMC’s 3nm process, but will get an improved N3P technology that gives up to 5% performance gain for the same power.
The eight-core (2+6) layout remains, but the frequencies have increased. A Geekbench listing of the Xiaomi 17 Pro showed: two custom Oryon cores running at 3.63GHz, and six at 4.61GHz. Different frequencies are expected for the Galaxy version: two cores at 4.74GHz and six at 3.63GHz.
The key improvement is a larger cache: instead of 24MB (12+12), it’s now 32MB (16+16). Graphics have been upgraded too, with a 1.20GHz Adreno 840 versus the Adreno 830’s 1.10GHz. The new NPU is rumored to be able to achieve up to 100 TOPS, bringing it closer to the level of notebook chips.
A new NPU will be able to achieve up to 100 TOPS, which brings it closer to the level of notebook chips.
| Characteristics | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (rumored) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Announcement pending (Sept. 23rd September) | |
| CPU | TSMC 3nm (N3P) | |
| CPU | Eight-core | |
| 2 × Oryon @ 4,61 GHz6 × Oryon @ 3.63 GHz | ||
| GPU | Adreno 840 @ 1.20 GHz, ray tracing support | |
| NPU | Qualcomm NPU, up to 100 TOPS | |
| Benchmarks | Geekbench v6.4: 3,831 (single-core), 11,525 (multi-core)AnTuTu v11: about 4.4 million |
Test Results
On Geekbench 6.4, the Xiaomi 17 Pro smartphone with this processor scored 3,831 in the single-core test and 11,525 in the multi-core test. In comparison, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 3,179 and 10,114, respectively.
Apple’s A18 Pro is still ahead in single-core (3,461) but behind in multi-core performance (8,546).
AnTuTu hasn’t covered the new product yet, but according to insider Digital Chat Station, the score is around 4.4 million points (AnTuTu 11).
First Devices
The Xiaomi 17 Pro is expected to be the first smartphone with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Details on other models and the first production devices will be revealed at Snapdragon Summit as early as next week.
