Something to look forward to: Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 8 Elite last October, and the company reportedly plans to unveil its next-generation flagship mobile SoC a month earlier this year. According to a reliable tipster, Qualcomm could unveil the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 this September, most likely at the next Snapdragon Summit.
According to Weibo user Digital Chat Station, Qualcomm will announce the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 at the end of September, with the first smartphones featuring the new chip expected to launch in October. Xiaomi could be the first company to release devices powered by the chip, with Samsung, OnePlus, and other Android vendors likely to follow over the following months.
If the report is accurate, the Xiaomi 16 and Xiaomi 16 Pro could be the first flagship smartphones to feature the new chip. The Xiaomi 15 series uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC and was among the first wave of devices to launch with that chipset. Other smartphones powered by the first-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite include the Galaxy S25 series, OnePlus 13, and Asus ROG Phone 9.
Qualcomm has not confirmed anything about its next-generation flagship mobile processor, including its official name. However, rumors suggest that it might offer significant improvements over its predecessor. According to an earlier leak from the same tipster, the upcoming SoC will deliver up to 25 percent improved CPU and 30 percent improved GPU performance over the first-generation 8 Elite.
The CPU performance boost reportedly stems from the second-generation custom Oryon cores, while the improved GPU performance is partly due to an increase in independent GPU cache, from 12MB in the first-generation model to 16MB in the upcoming chip. The tipster also claimed that the Gen 2 model might deliver an even bigger jump in multi-core performance but provided no further details.
Last year, Digital Chat Station claimed that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, codenamed SM8850, would be manufactured by TSMC using its advanced N3P fabrication process. He also said the new chipset would score at least 4,000 points in the single-core test on Geekbench 6 – a substantial improvement over the 3,200 points achieved by the current flagship.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 set for September unveiling - first flagship devices arrive in October
