Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Qualcomm Reportedly Preparing a Cheaper Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5V

The leaked variant is presented as a lower-cost flagship option to help phone makers manage rising memory costs after Qualcomm announced upcoming chipset price increases.

Overview

  • Multiple leaks and a specification sheet report that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5V (model SM8850-1-AB) will debut in the Redmi K100 Pro in China on August 11, but Qualcomm has not officially confirmed the chip.
  • The Gen 5V is said to keep the same N3P-built CPU with 4.6GHz Oryon cores, preserving flagship single-threaded performance while cutting graphics resources to save cost.
  • Specification details in reports show the chip uses a reduced Adreno GPU with two slices at 1.2GHz and 12MB of dedicated Adreno High Performance Memory versus 18MB on the standard Gen 5.
  • Leaked performance claims say common and mid-range mobile games should run similarly to current flagships while very graphics‑intensive titles may see frame‑rate drops; those claims remain unverified without independent benchmarks.
  • The move fits a broader strategy: OEMs face higher DRAM and component bills and Qualcomm has signaled price increases for its chips, so trimmed 'sliced' GPU SKUs let manufacturers offer near-flagship CPU speed at lower bill-of-materials cost.