5 huge enhancements the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 w...

Yearly, Qualcomm units the stage for Android flagships, and 2026 isn’t any completely different. At its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, the chip maker formally launched the brand new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor that can energy the subsequent wave of high-end Android telephones.

First issues first, the corporate is looking its new chipset Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (this follows final yr’s Snapdragon 8 Elite), claiming this additional simplifies the naming scheme. Qualcomm says “Gen 5” clarifies technology development, whereas together with “Elite” not solely indicators the SoC as flagship, but additionally distinguishes it from the opposite Snapdragon non-Elite variants.

With the chipset now official, as with each new Snapdragon launch, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers extra than simply improved efficiency. Listed below are 5 methods the brand new chip will seemingly make your subsequent Android smartphone even higher.

On-device agentic AI

AI will get smarter without having the cloud anymore

Each smartphone model is betting big on AI — whether or not that is automating duties, eradicating objects from photos, or just translating textual content on display — and Qualcomm’s newest chipset will assist Android OEMs push this additional.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will allow smartphones to carry out steady on-device studying and let multimodal AI fashions perceive customers higher, so units can automate extra duties offline. Your cellphone will adapt to your routine and preferences to behave in your behalf. There’s, nevertheless, no reside demo of this in motion but.

To attain this, Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 options an NPU that is 37% quicker but 16% extra energy environment friendly.

Video recording that lastly rivals what Apple does with iPhones

Qualcomm needs to shut the digital camera hole as soon as and for all

Whereas pictures has usually been an in depth contest between Android flagships and iPhones, video is the place the iPhone normally wins fingers down. The brand new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 goals to shut that hole.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the primary processor to help the brand new Superior Skilled Video (APV) codec, which Google formally launched with Android 16. Qualcomm says it will permit smartphones to seize professional-level, high-bitrate video with “unbelievable high quality.”

The corporate even claims every body might be sharp sufficient to extract and use as a nonetheless picture, with the identical element as a photograph. We do not but know which telephones will first help the APV codec, however I can not wait to check it in opposition to the iPhone. Hopefully, this chipset will lastly make Android telephones simply nearly as good for content material creators.

Quicker CPU and console-level gaming

Heavy apps and video games will really feel smoother than ever

It would not be a brand new Qualcomm chipset with out main efficiency jumps. Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers “huge” upgrades with new Third-gen Oryon cores reaching 4.6GHz and delivering 20% quicker CPU efficiency.

By way of structure, the chip retains a 2+6 format with two cores clocking as much as 4.6GHz and 6 efficiency cores as much as 3.62GHz. On the GPU facet, Qualcomm claims a 23% enhance in efficiency and 20% decrease energy consumption in comparison with final yr’s Snapdragon 8 Elite.

For avid gamers and builders, the massive information is “full Unreal Engine 5 compatibility,” which suggests extra headroom for builders to push graphical efficiency and, for avid gamers, doubtlessly extra AAA titles coming to Android.

The chip additionally introduces Adreno Excessive Efficiency Reminiscence (HPM), which is nothing however a devoted high-performing cache that sport builders can use. Qualcomm says it’s already working with studios like miHoYo, NetEase, and Tencent to reap the benefits of Adreno HPM for “smoother and longer gameplay.”

Higher battery life might be on the horizon

Due to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 being extra environment friendly

Flagship smartphones come and go, however one factor we all the time ask for is healthier battery life. It lastly appears to be like just like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 could ship on this entrance. The chipset continues to be constructed on a 3nm node, however Qualcomm claims it is 35% extra environment friendly than last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is an enormous bounce in only one technology.

Whereas that quantity could not sound enormous on paper, it means new Android telephones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 ought to provide a lot better battery life, for the reason that CPU can deal with the identical duties whereas utilizing much less vitality.

It, in fact, stays to be seen how this interprets into real-world use, however with the numbers Qualcomm is touting, I am hopeful — particularly when manufacturers proceed to keep away from adopting new battery tech (I am taking a look at you, Samsung).

Mobile networks and speeds see huge positive factors

Stronger, quicker, and extra dependable indicators

One other key space the place the subsequent technology of Android telephones may even see an improve is connectivity and obtain speeds. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 carries the corporate’s new X85 modem, which guarantees as much as 12.5Gbps downlink and three.7Gbps uplink speeds. That is practically a 25% enchancment over the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

As well as, the brand new chipset additionally carries the brand new FastConnect 7900, which suggests it’s best to get Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and UWB on telephones with this chipset, however the true benefit Qualcomm is touting is improved energy effectivity. Qualcomm claims as much as 40% energy financial savings versus the predecessor, which ought to translate to raised battery life.

With all that mentioned, I can not watch for the subsequent technology of Android telephones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Qualcomm has already confirmed it’s working with quite a lot of Android flagship makers, together with HONOR, iQOO, OPPO, POCO, realme, Xiaomi, OnePlus and Samsung for telephones with this chipset, a few of which ought to begin rolling out quickly.