Qualcomm has officially introduced its most powerful mobile processor yet, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, setting a fresh benchmark for performance, AI, and mobile gaming. This next-generation flagship chip succeeds the Snapdragon 8 Elite and will soon appear in high-end devices from leading brands such as Xiaomi, Samsung, and OnePlus. The Xiaomi 17 series is confirmed as the first smartphone lineup to feature the new chipset, with others expected to follow quickly.

The announcement highlights Qualcomm’s growing focus on video, AI, and efficiency—three areas where Android manufacturers are looking to rival Apple’s iPhones.

Advanced Video and Camera Capabilities

A key highlight of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is its introduction of the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec, a first for mobile processors. Qualcomm says the codec enables “near-lossless” video capture, offering professionals greater creative flexibility for post-production tasks such as color grading and highlight or shadow adjustments.

The chip also introduces Dragon Fusion computational imaging, co-developed with Arcsoft, which Qualcomm describes as “fully computational” and capable of treating every video frame as a high-quality photograph. Combined with a 20-bit triple ISP and support for up to 48MP triple cameras or 108MP single sensors, this promises enhanced dynamic range, detail, and tone mapping for both photography and videography.

Raw Power and Efficiency

On the performance front, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers a peak CPU clock speed of 4.6GHz and promises a 20% performance boost over its predecessor. Although Qualcomm has not clarified whether this applies to single- or multi-core workloads, users can also expect up to 16% better power savings and a 35% increase in CPU efficiency, potentially extending battery life.

Gaming Like Never Before

Qualcomm is positioning the new processor as a gaming powerhouse, offering full Unreal Engine 5 support with Nanite and Lumen. The chip also introduces mesh shading for more efficient rendering. While Qualcomm has not revealed improvements to ray tracing, it hinted that benchmark tests will soon provide clearer insights.

Smarter AI Experiences

Artificial intelligence is another major leap forward with the new Hexagon NPU, which Qualcomm says is 37% faster than the previous generation. The NPU now supports hardware-based matrix acceleration, INT2 precision, and can run larger AI models locally. Users will benefit from more responsive AI-driven tools, including Qualcomm’s Personal Scribe and updated Sensing Hub, which provide personalized recommendations and task automation.

Connectivity Upgrades

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 integrates the FastConnect 7900 suite, which brings Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) into a single solution. Qualcomm claims this results in up to 40% power savings over previous implementations. For mobile networks, the X85 modem offers impressive 12.5Gbps download and 3.7Gbps upload speeds, with improved efficiency and location accuracy.

Availability in India

The Xiaomi 17 series will be the first to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with Samsung, OnePlus, and other manufacturers set to follow. While exact pricing remains under wraps, smartphones featuring the chipset are expected to fall squarely into the premium flagship segment in India. More details on pre-orders and regional rollouts are anticipated in the coming weeks.