Qualcomm may be gearing up for a busier flagship season than expected. A new leak suggests the company will launch the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 this year—despite having replaced its “Gen” naming convention with the Snapdragon 8 Elite earlier in 2025.
The 8 Gen 5 isn’t a rebrand of the Elite. According to reports, it’s a separate chip altogether, carrying the internal model code SM8845, while the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 is listed as SM8850. This would mark the first time Qualcomm’s “Gen” and “Elite” branding have existed side by side.
That means two flagship‑tier processors are on the way, with the possibility of a third in the form of the rumored Snapdragon 8s Gen 5. The SM8845 is expected to deliver near‑flagship performance, slotting just below the SM8850’s true high‑end capabilities. By splitting the lineup, Qualcomm could offer clearer performance tiers—especially as competition intensifies from MediaTek and in‑house chips by Samsung and Google.
Still, the mixed naming could cause confusion. Qualcomm had previously moved away from the “Gen” format (as in Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) when it introduced the Elite branding, so reintroducing it now may leave buyers and phone makers navigating overlapping labels.
We should get the full picture at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, scheduled for September 23–25. That’s when the company is expected to reveal its latest Snapdragon X laptop processors and the new mobile flagship—whatever combination of “Gen” and “Elite” it ends up carrying.
