Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 arrives
When Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it mentioned a non-Elite version was coming soon to bring similar features to a lower-tier flagship segment. That chip is here now, and while it’s tuned down in performance, it keeps most of the same core capabilities.The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is built on TSMC’s 3nm process, just like the Elite, and keeps the 2 + 6 CPU layout – two prime cores, six performance cores – plus the Adreno 840 GPU. The difference? Clock speeds. Both the third-gen Oryon cores and the GPU run lower than what you get on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.Actually, Qualcomm compares this new chip to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from 2023, claiming 36% better CPU performance and 11% GPU improvement, along with efficiency gains. But with architecture updates since then, I believe the Elite Gen 5 is the more relevant benchmark.
Those percentage gains are measured against the two-year-old 8 Gen 3. | Image by Qualcomm
As I mentioned, the CPU structure mirrors the Elite, but at slower speeds – six performance cores top out at 3.32GHz, and the two prime cores hit 3.8GHz, compared to 3.62GHz and 4.6GHz on the Elite. On paper, this even puts the 8 Gen 5 just below last year’s Elite in raw performance, though real-world benchmarks will tell the full story.There are a few other trade-offs. The standard Gen 5’s X80 modem has slightly lower peak 5G speeds, while Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, satellite, and UWB remain the same. UFS 4.1 isn’t supported, and both the Adreno GPU and Hexagon AI NPU are a step down from the Elite. It still uses the Adreno 840 GPU with Frame Motion Engine 3.0, but misses Adreno High-Performance Memory (HPM).
In short, I can say that this chip will be more than enough for about 90% of users, but it doesn’t quite have the extreme performance needed for pro-level mobile gaming or really intensive AI workloads.
Other specs, like charging, display support, and most camera features, are identical to the Elite. So any phone running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 should still feel fast, responsive, and very capable.
First phones coming soon
The first phones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 are coming soon. | Image by Qualcomm
Qualcomm says several manufacturers, including OnePlus, Motorola, and vivo, will use this chip in new phones, with launches starting in the next few weeks. I think this almost certainly means the OnePlus 15R, confirmed for a US launch on December 17, will run the 8 Gen 5.So, this means that soon enough, we’ll have the device in hand and be able to compare it directly to its Elite sibling inside the OnePlus 15.
Perfect for flagship killers
Looking at the specs alone, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 seems tailor-made for all the “flagship killers” set to launch this year and next. It’s not Qualcomm’s absolute fastest chip, but it’s far from a mid-range processor, even if most of the phones that might adopt it fall into that mid-to-high tier, just like the OnePlus 15R.
