Leak reveals Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: 4.61GHz cores, Adreno 840, 4M+ AnTuTu. Samsung's Galaxy S26 may hit 4.74GHz. Launch Sept 23; rivals respond next day.
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Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is poised to be the company’s headline chip for 2025 and has already surfaced in a fresh leak. According to Digital Chat Station, the processor will feature two powerful cores clocked at 4.61 GHz and six performance cores at 3.63 GHz, with graphics handled by an Adreno 840 running at 1.2 GHz.
The intriguing twist is that Samsung is said to be preparing an exclusive Galaxy S26 version with cores pushed to 4.74 GHz. That move would help the brand set its flagships apart from Xiaomi, Honor, iQOO, OnePlus, and Realme, which are expected to start with the standard variant—at least initially.
The new chip reportedly scores over 4 million points in AnTuTu v11, a result that underscores a market-leading position. MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500 lands in a similar range, yet Qualcomm seems to retain a small cushion on raw performance.
The official debut of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is scheduled for the Snapdragon Summit on September 23, with MediaTek unveiling its response the very next day. Meanwhile, Apple is preparing to announce the iPhone 17 with the A19 Pro chip on September 9, setting the stage for a tight, high-profile showdown this fall.