Qualcomm teases Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 as its next flagship processor

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What you need to know

• Qualcomm has confirmed its next flagship chipset will be called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, not Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.

• The new name reflects the fifth generation of Qualcomm's premium 8-series chips.

• The "Gen 5" label simplifies the roadmap, while "Elite" marks the highest tier in Snapdragon family.

• Xiaomi 17 series and Samsung Galaxy S26 are expected to debut with the new chip.

It's been almost a year since Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which means it's time for the next-generation flagship. While many wondered it would be called Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 , since Qualcomm diverged from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 naming with the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the company has confirmed its next chip will be called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

While it may look like Qualcomm is changing the naming scheme again, that isn't quite the case. In its press release , the company explained that while it may look like "we skipped generations," the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 name highlights the fact that this is the fifth generation of its premium 8-series platforms since it adopted the single-digit naming convention back in 2021.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite branding itself is still fairly new. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 8 Elite was introduced as a new tier in its flagship portfolio. It was the first processor with the Oryon CPU brought to smartphones, delivering "unprecedented performance gains" and hence "debuted as a standalone platform."

With Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the company says it wants to simplify how consumers understand its roadmap. The "Gen 5" label is meant to highlight the fifth generation of the 8-series since 2021, while the "Elite" name continues to represent the very highest level of performance available in the Snapdragon family.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be unveiled on September 23

Qualcomm also says Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is "part of a broader roadmap," with more upcoming mobile platforms expected to adopt the Gen 5 naming. Qualcomm is set to officially announce the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, which kicks off on September 23, 2025.

On a related note, Xiaomi has confirmed that its upcoming Xiaomi 17 series will be one of the first flagships powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, though no launch date has been shared just yet. We also expect the Samsung Galaxy S26 series to feature the new chipset.