C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Leaker Digital Chat Station suggests Qualcomm will launch the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 in late September, with the first flagships with the new SoC expected to launch in October.
- If this leak pans out, Android flagships can launch closer to the new iPhone and capitalize on holiday sales.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite is the best SoC you can get in an Android flagship now, especially if you don’t mind spending top dollar to get the best performance. Most OEMs have already released their top-tier Pro and Ultra flagships with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, so it’s now time to look forward to the next iteration of the flagship processor. Qualcomm is expected to release the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 as part of its annual refresh, and we now have a rough timeline on when the SoC could launch and when the next generation of flagships would follow along.
As per leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Qualcomm could launch the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 at the end of September. Following the release of the SoC, Android OEMs are expected to launch their first flagships in October.
Qualcomm usually showcases the flagship Snapdragon mobile SoC at the annual Snapdragon Summit. This used to be held closer to the end of the year, but the launch has kept inching forward over the past few years. The last two iterations were held in October, so a Snapdragon Summit in September for the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 will bring forth the entire launch calendar by about a month.
Presuming the leaked timeline is correct, we will see the first Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2-powered flagships in October, most likely launched first in China. We can also be optimistic about global launches in December-January, with CES being an excellent event window to showcase a new flagship. This will also bring Android flagships closer to the release of the new iPhone 17, closing the performance gap between the two, as older Android flagships won’t be competing as much for sales against newer iPhones. Further, if Android OEMs can manage to prepone the timeline further, there’s a chance they can target the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday sales for their products, which would be a big win for phone sales.
Note that neither Qualcomm nor any Android OEM has spoken about the next generation of Android flagship phones, so plans could change as we approach the date. For now, we are optimistic about Android phones getting a chance to be released before the Christmas shopping season.
Leaks suggest the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 (model number SM8850) will have two prime and six performance second-generation Oryon cores. It is expected to be built on the more advanced TSMC N3P process and have the Adreno 840 GPU.
What are your thoughts on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2’s supposedly preponed release timeline so far? Would you like to see the launch of the new Android flagships before Christmas? Let us know in the comments below!
