TL;DR
- Qualcomm unveiled a second premium-tier processor alongside its main Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
- Called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, the chipset marks a new split within Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 family.
- The company says the split mirrors Apple’s two-chip iPhone strategy.
At its annual Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm introduced its expected flagship mobile processor for the next year, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The processor is expected to power next-gen premium Android smartphones like the Galaxy S26 series. But the company also threw in a surprise at the end of its presentation, announcing a second premium-tier processor: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
“We developed this chipset to give you more choices and flexibility, while still delivering flagship features,” Qualcomm said on stage. While details are scarce, the new processor will likely sit just below the Elite model. The idea is to create two distinct performance levels within Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 family.