Every year we dance the same dance. Firstly in September, Apple releases its new flagship iPhone devices with new, beefed-up processors inside. Then, a month or so later, Qualcomm unveils its latest competing processor it sells to Apple’s Android rivals in the hope of keeping up with Cupertino.
The iPhone 17 is on sale now with Apple’s A19 chip, while the slim iPhone Air and maxed-out iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have the A19 Pro.
Ahead of Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii this week, which is earlier than usual running September 23 to 25, the firm has spilled the beans on its main announcement, unveiling the name of the chipset that will take the fight to Apple’s A19 for Android phones in 2026.
Qualcomm’s new processor is called the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It replaces, confusingly, the Snapdragon 8 Elite that debuted last year and can be found in phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S25, Honor Magic 7 Pro and OnePlus 13.
The most powerful chip Qualcomm produced for mobile phones in 2023 was called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, before switching to the ‘Elite’ branding last year. That could be considered the fourth-gen, hence the return, albeit clumsily, to the fifth-gen moniker.
“It might look like we skipped generations, but the truth is simpler — and more powerful,” said Don McGuire, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Qualcomm.
“Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 marks the fifth generation of our premium 8-series platforms since we introduced our new single digit naming and visual identity. By aligning with Gen 5, we’re reinforcing its leadership position and simplifying how consumers understand our product roadmap.”
I’d wager most consumers don’t even think about Qualcomm’s product roadmap, but Android smartphone enthusiasts likely will.
Those fans will have to wait until later this week for Snapdragon Summit’s additional information to get the full skinny on what Qualcomm has improved though, as this initial announcement is light on technical detail.
Despite this, you can expect a host of next-gen Android flagship phones to run the 8 Elite Gen 5, including the upcoming Xiaomi 17 series, according to rumours. As a sidenote, it looks as though Xiaomi has skipped the ‘16’ name entirely, succeeding the Xiaomi 15 by matching the number of the iPhone 17. Feels a bit cynical.
Samsung will also very likely use the chip in its expected Galaxy S26 series early next year, presumably with the “8 Elite Gen 5 For Galaxy” name, a suffix it has tagged on the last few years thanks to close work with Qualcomm to offer slightly higher clock speeds.
OnePlus, Honor, Nubia and other firms are likely to announce their 2026 phones with the 8 Elite Gen 5, too. Express.co.uk will be bringing you the latest Qualcomm news this week as it is announced at Snapdragon Summit.