Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Qualcomm’s Next Flagship Comes With More Naming Confusion

Qualcomm is gearing up to unveil its next flagship mobile chipset later this September, but don’t expect it to be called Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.

According to new leaks from China, the company may instead brand it as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 – a move that only deepens the confusion around Qualcomm’s naming strategy.

At first glance, “Gen 5” sounds odd since the 8 Elite debuted just last year. But in reality, that chip was the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which effectively made it a Gen 4 under Qualcomm’s timeline, even if the name never reflected that. Now, with an “Elite Gen 5” and a separate, slightly less powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 planned, Qualcomm seems to be drawing a new line between its absolute top-tier and near-flagship offerings.

To complicate matters, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 itself will sit above the Snapdragon 8s Gen 5, but still fall short of the Elite Gen 5. If that sounds like a mess, you’re not alone – tech enthusiasts have been roasting Qualcomm for years over its inconsistent naming, from the Snapdragon 865 to 888, then the sudden shift to “Gen” branding, followed by the surprise switch to “Elite.” And now, another twist.

Still, the numbers matter less than the performance. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has already surfaced in benchmarks inside the upcoming OnePlus 15, showing impressive gains. But for many, the question isn’t about raw speed anymore – it’s whether anyone can make sense of Qualcomm’s ever-changing labels.