If you thought keeping up with smartphone processor names was a bit of a muddle already, Qualcomm might be about to turn it into a proper head-scratcher. We all got used to the Snapdragon 8 Gen series, then last year they threw a curveball by switching to the Snapdragon 8 Elite instead of the expected Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 .
Now, word on the street is that its successor, due for a reveal later this month, might not be called the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 or even the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 as you might logically assume. According to the prolific leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the upcoming flagship chip, known by the codename SM8850, could actually be launched as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
Now, hang on a minute. That name seems a bit odd, doesn’t it? Since the first Snapdragon 8 Elite only came out last year, calling the next one the ‘Gen 5’ makes it sound like it’s the fifth iteration of something, rather than just the second.
But there might be a method to this naming madness. It turns out Qualcomm could be planning another chip, reportedly called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (model number SM8845). This supposedly isn’t a direct successor to the Elite line, but rather a powerful chip in its own right that would sit just below the top-tier offering .
The idea seems to be that both chips belong to the same broader ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 5’ family, with the ‘Elite’ label denoting the absolute best model. So, in a roundabout way, the name ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’ would signal that it’s the top-end version of the Gen 5 series . It’s a bit convoluted, but it almost makes sense.
Regardless of what they finally decide to call it, the performance of this new flagship chip sounds absolutely monstrous. Another leak points to it racking up an AnTuTu benchmark score exceeding 4 million points. To put that into perspective, that’s about 50% higher than what the current Snapdragon 8 Elite can manage, which is a pretty generational leap in performance .
Under the hood, the chip is rumoured to pack a CPU with a ‘2+6’ core configuration, ditching dedicated efficiency cores altogether. This setup reportedly includes two high-performance ‘Prime’ cores screaming along at 4.61GHz and six other performance cores running at 3.63GHz. For the graphics, gamers can look forward to an Adreno 840 GPU clocked at 1.2GHz, which should provide a solid boost for mobile gaming .
We shall see if the rumours are true at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, which kicks off on the 23 September 2025.