Qualcomm has confirmed that its next flagship mobile chipset will be called the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, setting the stage for the next wave of Android premium devices. The announcement comes just ahead of the 2025 Snapdragon Summit, where the company is expected to share more details about performance and architecture.
The new naming convention may appear confusing at first glance. After Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Gen 2, and Gen 3, Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon 8 Elite last year as what it now considers the “Gen 4” equivalent. Rather than continuing sequentially, the company is moving directly to “Gen 5” with the new release, which it says better represents major product milestones. This branding will carry forward into future Snapdragon platforms.
Xiaomi will be among the first to adopt the processor, confirming that its upcoming Xiaomi 17 series—including the 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max—will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Interestingly, Xiaomi is also skipping the “16” designation, positioning the 17 series directly against Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup. Samsung is expected to use the chip in its Galaxy S26 range, likely under a “Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy” label, continuing Qualcomm’s tradition of offering slightly customized versions for Samsung’s flagships.
While Qualcomm hasn’t disclosed specifications yet, industry reports suggest the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be manufactured on TSMC’s 3nm process and incorporate custom Oryon CPU cores. These changes should bring notable improvements in performance and power efficiency, potentially helping Android makers better compete with Apple’s latest silicon.
More details, including benchmarks and feature sets, are expected at the Snapdragon Summit later this year. For now, the confirmation of branding and early manufacturer support signals that Qualcomm is aiming to cement its position at the top of the Android performance stack going into 2026.
