Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 Launching Late September: What to Expect
The tech world is buzzing with anticipation as Qualcomm has officially confirmed that its next-generation flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, is slated for a late September launch. This announcement, made at Qualcomm's Computex 2025 keynote, sets the stage for a potential October release of smartphones powered by this powerhouse chip. But what can we expect from this new silicon, and how will it stack up against the competition?
Multiple rumors had suggested an earlier-than-usual release for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, and Qualcomm seems to be accelerating its high-end SoC release cycle. The Snapdragon Summit 2025, scheduled for September 23-25 in Hawaii, is the designated arena for this grand unveiling. While there's speculation about the next-gen Snapdragon X Elite 2 (or Snapdragon X2 Elite) laptop chips making their debut at the same event, some sources indicate a potential delay until 2026.
The Snapdragon X platform has enjoyed stellar reviews according to Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld. Over 85 different PCs now feature members of the platform, and Amon said over 100 should be in users' hands by next year.
Leaked benchmarks paint a promising picture, suggesting that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 will outperform its predecessor by up to 26% in AnTuTu benchmarks. The chip is expected to retain its 6 + 2 CPU configuration alongside a potent Adreno GPU, rumored to be 30% faster than the previous generation. These performance gains are attributed to the Arm v9 instruction set, new Nuvia CPU cores, and TSMC's N3P node.
Several smartphone manufacturers are expected to integrate the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 into their upcoming flagships, including the Xiaomi 16, OnePlus 15, and Realme GT8 Pro. However, Samsung might be sitting this generation out, as Qualcomm reportedly intends to manufacture the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Galaxy on Samsung Foundry's SF2 node, while the Galaxy S26 series is rumored to exclusively use the Exynos 2600 across all variants.
The burning question remains: can the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 challenge Apple's A19/A19 Pro chips? Furthermore, MediaTek's Dimensity 9500 is poised to be a fierce competitor, while Samsung's Exynos 2600 faces an uphill battle. Adding to the competitive landscape, Xiaomi's Xring O1 SoC has demonstrated its mettle by trading blows with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, a feat that shouldn't be underestimated.
Qualcomm's keynote at Computex 2025 highlighted its commitment to the PC market, emphasizing that they are “going to be in the PC market forever”. CEO Cristiano Amon stated the next PC SoC would provide “another breakthrough in performance”. In line with this vision, Qualcomm is heavily focusing on on-device AI performance, believing its NPU (Neural Processing Unit), refined over years of smartphone development, will provide key advantages.
At the event, partnering companies like ASUS, HP and Lenovo, presented their newest Snapdragon-powered products. HP intends to introduce thin 16' notebooks to the mainstream markets. Lenovo showcased it's newest AI agent.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 represents Qualcomm's ambitious push to dominate the high-end mobile and PC markets. While benchmark numbers and partner affiliations are exciting, the ultimate test will be its real-world performance and how it fares against rival chips. Will this new Snapdragon achieve the breakthrough Qualcomm is promising? Only time will tell. What are your expectations for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
