Snapdragon Summit 2025 Kicks Off Tomorrow: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Confirmed, 8 Gen 5 Rumors, & How to Watch

Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit kicks off tomorrow at 6 AM IST. The three-day event is being held in Hawaii, and like in previous years, the keynote will be streamed live on YouTube.

It’s the stage where Qualcomm shows off the chipsets that will drive the next wave of Android flagships—and this time, the spotlight is on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

What Qualcomm Has Confirmed

Ahead of the keynote, Qualcomm has already taken the unusual step of confirming the chip’s name. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will succeed last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, and going forward, “Elite” will be the permanent label for Qualcomm’s top-tier processors. The “Gen 5” part simply reflects that this is the fifth iteration of Snapdragon 8, starting with Gen 1 back in 2021.

That naming choice may sound minor, but Qualcomm says it’s meant to make the roadmap easier to follow for both consumers and manufacturers.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: What to Expect

Leaks and benchmark listings give us a good picture of what’s coming. The chip will continue on TSMC’s 3nm process, moving from N3E to N3P for a small bump in efficiency.

• CPU: Qualcomm’s custom Oryon cores are back, this time clocked higher. Xiaomi’s 17 Pro listing shows two cores at 3.63 GHz and six at 4.61 GHz, while Samsung’s “for Galaxy” version is rumored to flip that setup, pushing two cores to 4.74 GHz. Cache memory is also growing from 24MB to 32MB, which should help apps feel snappier under load.
• GPU: The new Adreno 840 GPU replaces last year’s Adreno 830, with clocks reportedly stepping up to around 1.20 GHz.
• AI: On-device AI is the other big focus. The NPU could reach up to 100 TOPS, which would move AI throughput into territory normally seen on laptops.

Early Geekbench scores show 3,831 single-core and 11,525 multi-core, a healthy bump over last year’s chip.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: A Second Flagship

Qualcomm may not stop at just one processor this year. Alongside the Elite, rumors point to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (SM8845) in the works. It’s said to be a flagship in its own right but positioned slightly below the Elite Gen 5.

Speculation suggests it will share the same TSMC N3P process and Oryon cores, but tuned more for efficiency and broader adoption. Some leaks also mention support for SME (Scalable Matrix Extension) instructions to boost on-device AI acceleration, though performance is unlikely to match the Elite.

In other words, this could be the chip aimed at high-end devices that don’t need to push into “ultra” territory.

First Phones to Use Them

Xiaomi has already confirmed that the Xiaomi 17 series will debut with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Samsung is expected to bring its own version, branded “for Galaxy,” in the Galaxy S26 lineup early next year.

Other Chinese brands like Honor, Redmi, Realme, and iQOO are tipped to adopt both chips in their late-2025 and 2026 flagships.

The Other Big Player: MediaTek

Qualcomm won’t be alone this season. MediaTek just introduced the Dimensity 9500, another 3nm flagship chip that focuses on cooler sustained gaming and more efficient AI. Phones with the 9500 are due in Q4 2025.

You can read our detailed breakdown of MediaTek’s new chip here.