Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, based on TSMC’s 3nm process, which is compatible with powering the high-end Android smartphone segment.
A few months back, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at the Snapdragon Summit, which is expected to power the Galaxy S26 Ultra globally. Now, it has released the non-elite version of the chipset called Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
The newly launched Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset has an eight-core structure, which includes two main performance cores and six high-performance cores, accompanied by an Adreno 840 GPU. Qualcomm has adjusted the clock speed lower than the Elite version, helping to optimize power consumption.
Six cores run at 3.32GHz, while the two main cores run at 3.8GHz. This non-elite version delivers 36 percent faster CPU performance, 11 percent faster GPU, 46 percent faster AI performance, and 13 percent more power efficiency than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from two years ago.
Qualcomm has integrated the chip with a new generation Hexagon NPU for multi-modal AI processing directly on the device, and the Spectra image processor is equipped with a 20-bit pipeline and supports sensors up to 320MP.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is compatible with up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 4800MHz, UFS 4.1 storage, and 4K Plus resolution displays at 120Hz or QHD Plus at 240Hz, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, UWB, USB 3.1 Gen 2, multi-band positioning, Qualcomm 3D Sonic and 3D Sonic Max ultrasonic fingerprint sensors.
The company also confirmed that iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, and Vivo brands are in line to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 in their upcoming affordable premium smartphones. However, Samsung has not confirmed to use this chipset for the upcoming Galaxy devices.
