Qualcomm unveils the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile SoC, with two prime and six performance CPU cores, claiming 45% faster CPU and NPU over the 8 Gen 3, and more

The new name marks a major departure from previous Snapdragons. — • — After much speculation …

Android Authority 2024-10-22 Robert Triggs

Context & Ripple Effects

Qualcomm’s flagship sequence had already moved from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s performance and AI claims to a 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with faster graphics and on-device image generation. The 8 Elite changes both the process node and the flagship naming convention while raising the stated CPU and NPU performance target.

The configuration also makes Qualcomm’s CPU design choice more explicit: two prime cores and six performance cores, rather than the prior generation’s reported product framing around GPU and AI features.

First-order effects

For Qualcomm, Snapdragon 8 Elite becomes the new flagship mobile platform and replaces the 8 Gen 3 as the company’s performance reference point, with claimed 45% gains in both CPU and NPU performance.
Devices built around the chip receive a 3nm SoC with two prime and six performance CPU cores; actual gains will depend on how individual products implement the platform.

Second-order effects

The larger stated NPU gain raises the bar for handset makers and application developers seeking to differentiate on-device AI features, extending the direction set by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s on-device generative-AI capabilities.
Qualcomm’s new “Elite” label gives its customers a new flagship tier to market, while making generation-to-generation comparisons less straightforward for buyers accustomed to the 8 Gen naming scheme.

Third-order effects

If Qualcomm sustains this cadence, flagship mobile competition will increasingly be framed around heterogeneous CPU, GPU and NPU capability rather than CPU speed alone.
The shift to 3nm and a more aggressive core mix illustrates how process-node advances and specialized compute are becoming coupled in premium mobile SoCs; whether claimed improvements translate into durable device-level benefits remains implementation-dependent.

The trend: Flagship mobile chips are evolving into heterogeneous AI-compute platforms, with process shrinks and dedicated neural processing carrying more of the upgrade narrative.

Discussion

@mishaal_rahman Mishaal Rahman on threads
Qualcomm says its Snapdragon 8 Elite is a quantum leap forward in performance. It has Qualcomm's custom Oryon cores clocked at up to 4.32GHz (!), supports Unreal Engine 5 features, multimodal gen AI, & more. What you need to know👇 https://androidfaithful.com/ ...
@androidauthority @androidauthority on threads
Qualcomm showing off just how fast the Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU is compared to the original, launched only a few months ago.
@socialcrrowd Vedant Dave on threads
Snapdragon 8 Elite (8 Gen 4) is here! 🔥 - TSMC 2nd Gen 3nm Process - Adreno 830 GPU - 24MB L2 Cache (12MB+12MB) - UFS 4.0 storage - LPDDR5X RAM support at 5.30GHz - Snapdragon X80 5G Modem - Fastconnect 7900 - WiFi 7 AI enhanced integrated UWB Tech Threads
@androidauthority @androidauthority on threads
Xiaomi 15 will be the first Snapdragon 8 Elite phone to launch globally (but probably not in the US 😩)
@thegalox_ Anthony on threads
The new Snapdragon 8 Elite • 3nm process • 4.32GHz max frequency • 44% faster CPU • 40% faster GPU • 45% faster NPU • 35% faster Ray Tracing • 33% ISP improvement • FastConnect 7900 • Snapdragon X80 modem The worlds fastest mobile processor
@mishaal_rahman Mishaal Rahman on threads
Qualcomm will provide BSP support for the Snapdragon 8 Elite for 8 generations of Android releases. That 8 includes the original OS release, by the way, which means Qualcomm is supporting 7 years of updates! By the way, the actual “how” is quite interesting. Will write up an a…
@heaney_555 David Heaney on threads
If Qualcomm used the new GPU from the just-announced Snapdragon 8 Elite in an XR2 Gen 3, it would achieve 75% faster GPU performance over Quest 3. That means it's likely on track to achieve another double GPU performance leap for Quest 4 in 2026, continuing the pace.
@PCMag@mastodon.social @PCMag@mastodon.social on mastodon
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is such a big step up in performance that Qualcomm decided the system-on-a-chip needed a new name. Rather than give it the obvious Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 moniker, Qualcomm elevated the chip to elite status. https://www.pcmag.com/...
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
Qualcomm will provide BSP support for the @Snapdragon 8 Elite for 8 generations of Android releases. That 8 includes the original OS release, by the way, which means Qualcomm is supporting 7 years of updates! #SnapdragonSummit
@roccetry Nicolas La Rocco on x
Qualcomm will support #Snapdragon8Elite for eights years with eight generations of Android, according to Christopher Patrick at #SnapdragonSummit. [image]
@sondesix Alvin on x
Here's the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform! It is the first-ever mobile SoC from Qualcomm to use the Oryon CPU architecture, and it appears to be a significant upgrade from the 8 Gen 3. Highlights: ✅ 3 nm process ✅ Up to 4.32 GHz CPU frequency (2x4.32 GHz + 6x3.…
@ryanshrout Ryan Shrout on x
Qualcomm hits back at Intel on competitive CPU claims, performance on battery
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
Xiaomi is here announcing the Xiaomi 15 series will be the first phone with Snapdraon 8 Elite, launching at the end of the month with HyperOS 2 [image]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
ASUS announces the awesome Snapdragon 8 Elite powered ROG Phone 9, coming November 2024! Everything gets maxed out. The biggest leap in years. Always listen to a Sascha. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
8 Elite has 62% faster browsing in Chrome and a 44% improvement in power efficiency. More in our deep dive later today. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@mytechmusings Prakash Sangam on x
#XR time at #SnapdragonSummit with @ahimel of @Meta Some interesting use cases of using #Ai with the camera on the glasses to simplify many regular things you do, like cooking, changina tire etc. @Qualcomm #AR #VR #AugmentedReality [image]
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
Ready, mobile gamers? ⚔️ #Snapdragon 8 Elite is engineered with the custom-built @Qualcomm Oryon CPU and groundbreaking Adreno GPU, taking your gaming experiences to mobile-defying levels. #SnapdragonSummit [video]
@never_released @never_released on x
Snapdragon 8 Elite shows what the Snapdragon X Elite (Gen1) should have been IMO
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
90% of PC user time on X Series is spent in native apps. On device LM apps such as Ollama, LM Studio and Private LLM are getting up to 70 tps. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
BMW and Qualcomm are talking about their dual development of a full stack ADAS system, including centralized processing platform for all sensor data [image]
@cristianoamon Cristiano R. Amon on x
At #SnapdragonSummit 2024, we unveiled #Snapdragon 8 Elite, the world's fastest mobile SoC, featuring our custom-built Qualcomm Oryon CPU. This platform marks a new era for on-device generative #AI, enabling smartphones to handle multimodal AI seamlessly while ensuring user
@universeice @universeice on x
A significant improvement of this generation Snapdragon 8 Elite lies in the test results of Speedometer 3.0, which is twice as good as that of 8Gen3 and is close to Apple. This result means that the browser performance has been significantly improved, and users will feel the
@neiltwitz Neil Shah on x
@cristianoamon ... More than 1200+ games now supported on @Snapdragon AI PCs with 750 more games support 1080p+ resolution testifying Qualcomm's extenssive work on the GPU stack and not just Hexagon NPU or Oryon CPU. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@qbking77 Tim Schofield on x
The upcoming @Honorglobal Magic 7 Series will also be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Announced on October 30th! #SnapdragonSummit #paidtravel [image]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
Pavan from Microsoft here now. Praising our performance and battery life over the MacBook Air. Excited about momentum from developers! Recent announcements from VPNs, Adobe, Notion, Google Drive, etc. More than 90% of consumer printers work seamlessly. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
We're excited to unlock the full potential of #AI in #XR with @Meta. #SnapdragonSummit
@cristianoamon Cristiano R. Amon on x
Grateful to Frank Weber and @BMWGroup for showcasing the power of collaboration at #SnapdragonSummit. Together, we're pushing the boundaries of automated driving with @Snapdragon Ride, bringing the next generation of innovation to the road.
@greengart Avi Greengart on x
@Snapdragon ... Still on PCs. Qualcomm claims that 90% of time will be spent on native Windows-on-Arm apps (certainly matches my workload, which is browser and Microsoft365 -heavy). Blender is now native! with NPU rendering. Affinity was already native, new NPU features #Snapdrag…
@mytechmusings Prakash Sangam on x
.@Honorglobal CMO @DrRayGuo on stage..saying is the 1st company to build aan #AI ecosystem only based on @Qualcomm @Snapdragon Introducing @Android #HonorAIAgent & #HonorMagic7 smartphone based on #Snapdragon8Elite Also, as a longtime #foldable user was very impressed with [image…
@qbking77 Tim Schofield on x
The Xiaomi 15 Series will be the first smartphone to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite! #SnapdragonSummit #paidtravel @Xiaomi [image]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
Meta confirms Snapdragon powers their Orion glasses prototype's compute puck! #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@greengart Avi Greengart on x
@Snapdragon ... We're in @snapdragon X Elite benchmark land now where @cristianoamon is claiming that Qualcomm still beats Intel's new Lunar Lake and AMD Strix Point on wired performance, and blows them away on battery #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@fsideco Francis Sideco on x
Tim Sweeney CEO Epic Games announced partnership with ⁦@Qualcomm⁩ on bringing UnReal Engine to auto platforms on ⁦@Snapdragon⁩ Cockpit #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@neiltwitz Neil Shah on x
@cristianoamon ... On stage @meta head of XR experiences @ahimel unpacking the @Qualcomm partnership to build diverse XR experiences from smart glasses @ray_ban to @MetaQuestVR and upcoming Oryon AR glasses and all powered by Meta AI as well #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@jonmasters @jonmasters on x
Congrats to the @Qualcomm @nuvia_inc team on yet another great product announcement. You still ain't seen nothing yet on what GW3 and co are able to build 👍
@sarvikas Juho Sarvikas on x
The most powerful & world's fastest mobile System-on-a-Chip ever... introducing the new @Snapdragon 8 Elite platform boasting the 2nd generation of the @Qualcomm Oryon CPU, engineered to handle complex multi-modal AI tasks seamlessly. 🧵1/2
@ishanagarwal24 Ishan Agarwal on x
Qualcomm's partnership with both Microsoft & Meta has been quite fruitful. The Copilot+ PCs are the biggest leap for Windows yet while products like Meta Quest & Ray-ban Smart Glasses are some of the most exciting launches yet. #SnapdragonSummit @Snapdragon_IN [image]
@mytechmusings Prakash Sangam on x
That's wrap of the keynote at #Snapdragonsummit... wow it topped 2 hour 30 mins... probabably one of my longest... Here are my key takeaways 📱 New #Snapdragon8elite bringing #Oryon2ndgen #CPU to smartphones & with that substantial performance improvment 📱Big statement about [imag…
@navkendarsingh Navkendar Singh on x
.@Qualcomm partnership with @OpenAI on On-Device AI et al. @sama underlining the importance of this collaboration #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
Creative apps on Snapdragon: Blender is native now. Affinity is adding NPU features. Capture One is native, with NPU features. We now have Cubase audio, with new MIDI support and USB audio drivers coming. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@qualcomm @qualcomm on x
Qualcomm and @Meta, along with countless ecosystem partners, are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in #AI and #XR. #SnapdragonSummit [video]
@qualcomm @qualcomm on x
.@BMWGroup's Frank Weber speaks about the evolution of Qualcomm's partnership with BMW. Their upcoming Neue Klasse will feature the @Snapdragon Ride Platform. #SnapdragonSummit [video]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
2nd Gen Oryon BEATS Apple A18 Pro. We have restored performance leadership to the Android ecosystem. I can say Apple because it's on the slide, right? #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
When unplugged, our PC competitors dropped performance to achieve their battery life claims. WE DO NOT. You get performance, unplugged. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@bobodtech Bob O'Donnell on x
As a musician & former music technology magazine editor I'm super pumped to see @Qualcomm & @Microsoft provide support for low latency MIDI and USB Audio drivers, allowing apps like @SteinbergMedia Cubase to run natively on @Snapdragon. Huge deal for musicians. #SnapdragonSummit …
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
Our phone core beats their PC chip. Lol. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
@heaney555 David Heaney on x
If Qualcomm used the new GPU from the just-announced Snapdragon 8 Elite in an XR2 Gen 3, it would achieve 75% faster GPU performance over Quest 3. That means it's likely on track to achieve another double GPU performance leap for Quest 4 in 2026, continuing the pace.
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
The #SnapdragonSummit keynote is about to start [image]
@sondesix Alvin on x
Snapdragon 8 Elite, the first mobile SoC from Qualcomm with Oryon CPU. Expected upcoming products to be powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite: ✅️ OnePlus 13 ✅️ iQOO 13 Series ✅️ Samsung Galaxy S25 Series (most likely: S25 Ultra) ✅️ Xiaomi 15 Series ✅️ OPPO Find X8 Ultra ✅️ [image]
@mishaalrahman Mishaal Rahman on x
Qualcomm says its @Snapdragon 8 Elite is a quantum leap forward in performance. It has @Qualcomm's custom Oryon cores clocked at up to 4.32GHz (!), supports Unreal Engine 5 features, multimodal gen AI, & more. #SnapdragonSummit What you need to know👇 https://www.androidfaithful.c…
@cristianoamon Cristiano R. Amon on x
Great to be back in Maui for #SnapdragonSummit 2024! Getting ready to go on stage to share some exciting new developments. Stay tuned for a future powered by #AI-first experiences! #TeamQualcomm [video]
@snapdragon @snapdragon on x
#Snapdragon is unleashing tomorrow's next-generation intelligence, today. #SnapdragonSummit is off to a strong start. https://www.youtube.com/...
@yabhishekhd Abhishek Yadav on x
Snapdragon 8 Elite (8 Gen 4) Samsung galaxy S25 series, Realme GT 7 Pro, iQOO 13, Xiaomi 15 series, OnePlus 13, Honor Magic 7 etc. Specifications TSMC 2nd generation 3nm node 🔳 Oryon CPU cores 2 × 4.32 GHz 6 × 3.53 GHz 🎮 Adreno 830 GPU - 24MB L2 cache (12MB+12MB) 🍭 Android [image…
@saschasegan Sascha Segan on x
8 Elite is 45% faster and 44% more power efficient than last year's model. And unlike others, we don't run our benchmarks in a freezer. #SnapdragonSummit [image]
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