Qualcomm has officially unveiled its latest flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, bringing another leap in performance for Android smartphones. Built on a 3nm process, the chip retains its 8-core Oryon CPU architecture, now in its third generation, and pushes mobile performance to new heights.

This year’s configuration includes two Prime Oryon cores clocked at 4.6GHz — the fastest CPU speed ever on a mobile chip — alongside six Performance Oryon cores at 3.62GHz. Compared to last year’s 8 Elite, the Prime cores jump from 4.32GHz while Performance cores rise from 3.53GHz. On paper, that translates to up to 20% better single-core performance and 17% better multi-core speeds.

On the graphics side, a new Adreno GPU paired with High Performance Memory (HPM) introduces features like Tile Memory Heap, Mesh Shading, and full support for Unreal Engine 5, promising console-grade visuals on mobile. Qualcomm claims GPU performance has improved by as much as 23% year-on-year.

The Hexagon NPU also gets a major upgrade, now 37% faster while consuming less power. This means smartphones powered by the 8 Elite Gen 5 will be able to run larger AI models directly on-device, without draining the battery as quickly. With the current wave of AI-driven features across apps and operating systems, this improvement is one of the chip’s biggest highlights.

Other specs don’t disappoint either: support for up to 24GB LPDDR5X RAM, UFS 4.1 storage, displays up to QHD+ 240Hz, and cameras up to 320MP or dual 108MP sensors. Connectivity is handled by the Snapdragon X85 5G modem, while features like USB 3.1 Gen 2, Quick Charge 5, and XPAN audio round out the package.

So, will 2025 finally be the year console-quality gaming hits Android? That remains the big question. Qualcomm promised it last year, but results have been mixed — especially as Apple’s push into gaming with iPhone hasn’t gained much traction with core gamers. Still, with faster cores and Unreal Engine 5 optimizations, Qualcomm seems closer than ever to delivering on that vision.

The first phones to ship with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will come from Xiaomi’s upcoming 17 series, with other manufacturers like Samsung expected to follow in the coming months.