Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 flagship processor

Qualcomm officially announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Mobile Platform on Wednesday in San Diego. This premium offering combines outstanding performance with cutting-edge technologies, setting a higher standard for flagship mobile experiences.

The Snapdragon 8-series continues to expand premium smartphone technologies, powering many of the world's leading flagship devices. The 8 Gen 5 brings flagship-level performance, intelligence, and experiences to a wider range of premium smartphones.

Key Performance Upgrades

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is described as an incredibly fast processor that joins Snapdragon's premium tier family.

Custom-built CPU: It features the custom-built Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU, delivering peak speeds up to 3.8 GHz.

Performance Improvements: The Mobile Platform offers a remarkable 36% performance improvement and 76% better web browsing responsiveness compared to the previous generation. This significant leap enables smoother multitasking, faster responsiveness, and enhanced efficiency across demanding applications.

GPU Enhancements: Complementing the CPU, the Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU features an innovative sliced architecture, which unlocks higher clock speeds and boosts gaming and graphics performance by 11%.

AI Engine: The Qualcomm® Hexagon™ NPU at the core of the AI capabilities achieves up to 46% improved performance.

Transformative Mobile Experiences

The new platform is set to transform smartphones into more intuitive companions

Intuitive AI Assistants: Users can instantly wake their AI assistant simply by picking up their device. This is possible thanks to the Qualcomm® Sensing Hub, which intelligently combines microphone and sensor inputs to detect users’ intent to speak.

Context-Aware Interactions: Powered by the Qualcomm® AI Engine, Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 also enables agentic AI assistants to deliver context-aware interactions and personalised suggestions, elevating mobile experiences with seamless, on-device intelligent experiences.

Tier Offering: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 joins the premium tier family, offering consumers greater choice and flexibility. It meets the rising demand for cutting-edge capabilities, ranging from AI and camera innovations to immersive gaming experiences.

OEM Adoption

Flagship OEMs that will be powered by the premium platform include OnePlus, with new devices launching in the coming weeks.

Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager, mobile handset, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., stated, “As the demand for premium smartphones continues to surge, Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is perfectly positioned to meet and exceed consumers' evolving expectations. We’ve reimagined our 8 series family, putting premium performance into the hands of more consumers worldwide... Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 places users at the centre of their mobile experiences, empowering them with the speed, intelligence, and efficiency they need to perform at their peak and unlock their full creative potential.”

Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 will be featured in flagship devices from global OEMs and smartphone brands, including iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus and Vivo.