Qualcomm has officially unveiled its next-generation flagship mobile platform, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which it calls the “world’s fastest mobile system-on-a-chip.” The new platform is built on a 3nm process node and is designed to power the most advanced flagship smartphones from brands that do not develop their own chipsets. Devices featuring the new SoC will begin rolling out in the coming days.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 packs Qualcomm’s third-generation Oryon CPU, which is capable of clock speeds up to 4.6GHz. The company says the CPU delivers a 20 percent single-core performance boost, a 17 percent improvement in multi-core performance, and 32 percent better responsiveness compared to its predecessor. Power efficiency has also improved significantly, with a 35 percent GPU power savings, 20 percent CPU power savings, and an overall 16 percent reduction in power per watt.
For gamers, the new platform introduces 23 percent faster GPU performance and a 25 percent improvement in ray tracing. Qualcomm has included 18MB of dedicated Adreno High Performance Memory, which it claims boosts performance by up to 10 percent, while reducing memory latency by 18 percent.
AI is another big focus this year. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 features Qualcomm’s upgraded Hexagon NPU, delivering up to 37 percent faster performance and support for up to 32,000 context window tokens. It enables more advanced on-device AI agents that can personalize the user experience in real time, handling tasks like vision, voice, and contextual reasoning directly on the device.
On the camera side, Qualcomm is introducing the world’s first hardware APV codec, enabling recording in Advanced Professional Video (APV) for professional-grade mobile filmmaking. The 20-bit ISP offers 4x larger dynamic range, along with features like Dragon Fusion video, Night Vision 3.0, reflection removal, and spatial audio sensing.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 also brings the world’s most advanced AI-powered 5G modem, with speeds of up to 12.5Gbps. Wi-Fi performance gets a 50 percent lower latency boost with AI-enhanced FastConnect. On the audio side, it supports untethered 24-bit/96kHz lossless music streaming, spatial audio, and enhanced AI-based voice interaction.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Process Node | 3nm |
| CPU | 3rd Gen Qualcomm Oryon CPU, up to 4.6GHz clock speed |
| CPU Performance | +20% single-core, +17% multi-core, +32% responsiveness |
| GPU | Next-gen Adreno GPU |
| GPU Performance | +23% GPU performance, +25% ray tracing improvement |
| Adreno Memory | 18MB dedicated memory, up to 10% performance boost, up to 18% faster |
| Power Efficiency | 35% GPU savings, 20% CPU savings, 16% overall lower power per watt |
| AI / NPU | Hexagon NPU with 37% faster performance, up to 220 tokens/second, up to 32K context window tokens, 64-bit memory virtualization |
| Camera (ISP) | 20-bit ISP, 4x larger dynamic range, World’s first APV (Advanced Professional Video) codec, Dragon Fusion video, Night Vision 3.0, Reflection Removal, Spatial Audio Sensing |
| Connectivity | AI-powered 5G modem, up to 12.5Gbps download speed, 30% faster AI inference for 5G, FastConnect with 50% lower Wi-Fi latency |
| Sound | 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio streaming, spatial audio, AI-enhanced voice |
| Gaming | Faster ray tracing, landing challenges, and enhanced Adreno GPU with high-performance memory |
| Other Features | Real-time air traffic AI, immersive DualSense controller support on supported devices (PlayStation cross-influence) |
Qualcomm confirmed that several major smartphone makers will adopt the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for their upcoming flagship devices. This includes Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, Honor, iQOO, Nubia, POCO, realme, REDMI, RedMagic, ROG, Sony, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.
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