Android phones in 2025 suddenly sound more appealing thanks to elite upgrade

TechPhonesAndroid PhonesAndroid phones in 2025 suddenly sound more appealing thanks to elite upgradeQualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite looks set to push the boundaries of what’s possible for Android flagship phones in 2025When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite looks set to push the boundaries of what’s possible for Android flagship phones in 2025

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Qualcomm / Future)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform

(Image credit: Qualcomm / Future)

Quick SummaryQualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite platform has been revealed, bringing a new naming convention and doing away with the numbered ‘Gen’ iterations of its predecessors.The new 8 Elite platform boasts “major architectural upgrades” with new prime cores being the “fastest in the industry” for blazing performance across AI, gaming and more.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite platform has been revealed, bringing a new naming convention and doing away with the numbered ‘Gen’ iterations of its predecessors.The new 8 Elite platform boasts “major architectural upgrades” with new prime cores being the “fastest in the industry” for blazing performance across AI, gaming and more.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite platform has been revealed, bringing a new naming convention and doing away with the numbered ‘Gen’ iterations of its predecessors.

The new 8 Elite platform boasts “major architectural upgrades” with new prime cores being the “fastest in the industry” for blazing performance across AI, gaming and more.

Each year Qualcomm gathers in Hawaii to host its Snapdragon Summit – where the chip manufacturer shows-off its latest and greatest mobile innovations. And for this year, giving a preview of what’s to come tothe best phonesof 2025, it’s a particularly big deal.

As follow-up to theSnapdragon 8 Gen 3, revealed last year and utilised in many ofthe best Android phonesof today, there’s going to be an ‘elite upgrade’ for many 2025 phones – because Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite doesn’t just bring a new naming convention for its latest flagship, the hardware is re-architected to take it to the next level.

While the numbered generational stamps are now over with – for now anyway, as it’s any guess what’ll happen next year – the new Snapdragon 8 Elite has been “built from the ground up”. So while its name may somewhat reflectQualcomm’s X Elitename – as used in many ofthe best laptopsand really revolutionising the Windows space in the last few months – the second-gen Oryon CPU in the mobile chip is a different beast entirely.

Update (21 October): Interestingly, Snapdragon 8 Elite will actually be in handsets that go on sale before 2025 comes around! TheXiaomi 15 series reveal is officially at the end of this month, set to be the first global launch for the new chip, while Honor also confirmed its Magic 7 will house the latest Qualcomm hardware too.

Snapdragon 8 Elite: Key Features

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Greater computational power, significant improved graphics ability for gaming, and a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) is a summary of what the Snapdragon 8 Elite is all about. It’s within these features where various stand-out possibilities come to light.

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Insight AI

Speaking of which: AI is front and centre, as you’d expect, with multi-modal generative AI applications now possible on device. Qualcomm’s AI Engine has received “tremendous upgrades” to lessen the pressure on cloud-based AI processing.

What will that mean in reality? A greater capacity to handle more ‘tokens’ – those being text, voice, photo and video inputs – for real-time processing. Expect quicker, more fluid AI responses in conversational tasks, for example, or for more complex AI processing of video to happen in real-time without needing to wait.

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Snapdragon Elite Gaming

The raw GPU power enhancements will be seen most effectively in gaming, where Qualcomm’s new Adreno GPU is boasting a 40% boost in performance. Like its predecessor, which could run the Unreal Engine 5 and handle ray-tracing effects, the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite has support for Unreal Engine’s Chaos physics engine and Nanite engine on mobile for the first time.

What will that mean in reality? Greater efficiency for longer gameplay. Smoother playback and higher frame-rates. The ability to handle more complex geometric complexity, for more virtual objects to move at any one time. Just better gaming graphics potential, ultimately.

Camera enhancements

There’s a big shift for cameras, too, with the Cognitive ISP (that’s Image Signal Processor) of the previous-gen platform also being built from the ground up, as a new ‘AI ISP’. It’s designed to work with the hexagon NPU (neural processing unit) “at a fundamental level”.

Which phones will have Snapdragon 8 Elite?

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

However, no specific handsets have been revealed that will utilise the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as yet, with Qualcomm only confirming a list of brands that are “poised to launch devices … in the coming weeks”. Those include Honor, OnePlus, Oppo, Samsung, Xiaomi and more.

Let’s not forget, however, that MediaTek has also revealed its Dimensity 9400 competitor, which is also a super-powerful 3nm process that will appeal to various brands – and likely appear at the heart of some other forthcoming Android flagships. After all, MediaTek has even broken into Samsung’s product line-up – with the recent Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra taking on such hardware.

T3 is on the ground at Snapdragon Summit 2024 and will be keeping eyes peeled for further concrete announcements about future handsets that are set to use Snapdragon 8 Elite. Otherwise it’s a deep-dive of education in learning about the new chip and why it’ll make the phones of 2025 the best ever…

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Snapdragon 8 Elite: Key Features#

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Which phones will have Snapdragon 8 Elite?#

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