Android’s next flagship processor will be the ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’

Qualcomm has announced its upcoming flagship mobile chipset, the "Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5," which will be unveiled during the Snapdragon Summit on September 23rd-25th. The company has explained the reasoning behind the confusing naming convention, stating that it marks the fifth generation of their premium 8-series platforms since the introduction of the new single-digit naming and visual identity. The move aims to make the generational Snapdragon mobile chip lineup more understandable for consumers, as the previous naming convention, which included the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Gen 2, and Gen 3, was broken with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is technically the fourth generation. Reintroducing generation numbers will help to clarify that these products are part of the same family and release timeline, while avoiding the number four, which is considered unlucky in Chinese culture. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is expected to rival Apple's new A19 Pro chipset and power the next generation of flagship Android phones, such as Samsung's Galaxy S26 series and the OnePlus 15.