Qualcomm Summit 2025: Rumoured Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip could feature flagship architecture

Qualcomm is gearing up for its annual Snapdragon Summit, scheduled to begin on 23 September, where the company is widely expected to unveil its next-generation flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2. But if fresh leaks are to be believed, another high-end processor could also be on the cards, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.

According to well-known Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, carrying the model number SM8845, is currently in development and could debut as a flagship-grade addition to the Snapdragon 8 series. Unlike the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 (SM8735), this new chipset is said to feature Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU cores and will be produced using TSMC’s advanced 3nm N3P process, the same technology expected to power the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 (SM8850).

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is also tipped to include support for ARM’s Scalable Matrix Extensions (SME), a technology designed to accelerate AI and machine learning workloads. In line with Qualcomm’s positioning strategy, the chipset is expected to sit above the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 but below the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, which will remain the company’s top-tier mobile offering.

Reports suggest that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 could deliver up to a 20% performance improvement in both single-core and multi-core benchmarks compared to its predecessor. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is rumoured to pair Oryon CPU cores with an Adreno 830 GPU, potentially making it one of Qualcomm’s most versatile offerings for late 2025 and early 2026 flagship smartphones.

Speculation in the industry indicates that the Redmi K90 could be among the first devices to adopt the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, with other brands such as Honor and Realme expected to follow suit in their upcoming premium launches.

For now, Qualcomm has not confirmed the existence of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, but all eyes will be on the upcoming summit to see whether the chipmaker surprises the industry with a dual flagship announcement.