Qualcomm has introduced its flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, marking the debut of the Oryon CPU architecture on Android smartphones. This architecture was first showcased earlier this year with the Snapdragon X Elite processor for PCs. The San Diego-based company has shifted from the previous Snapdragon 8 Gen xx naming scheme, opting for the Elite branding to set this chipset apart from its predecessors.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is expected to power most flagship Android smartphones launching this year and next, including models like the iQOO 13, OnePlus 13, Realme GT 7 Pro, and potentially even the Samsung Galaxy S25 series.
In a blog post, Chris Patrick, Qualcomm's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Handsets, commented on the new processor: Earlier this year, we debuted it (Oryon CPU) in PCs, delivering remarkable experiences and unparalleled battery life to PC users, energizing the industry and gaining consumer attention.
What’s New with the Snapdragon 8 Elite?The Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm's first chipset built on the 3nm process, a notable upgrade from the 4nm process used in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 found in most flagship devices last year. The smaller process allows for improved performance and power efficiency.
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is the fastest mobile CPU on the market, featuring two performance cores running at 4.32 GHz each, with the other six cores clocking at 3.53 GHz. It also includes a combined 24MB of cache for ultra-fast data retrieval.
Compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers a 45% boost in CPU performance and a 44% improvement in power efficiency.