Budget Snapdragon: a new 8 Elite Gen 5 ‘economical’

As September approaches, curiosity about Qualcomm’s next flagship SoC grows. The annual summit also has a date (from 22 to 24 September) and shortly after the debut, the first new-generation flagships will begin to surface — the Xiaomi 18 family leading the pack.

Meanwhile, the memory crisis rages and component prices are sky-high, with increases that — inevitably — reflect on users. The solution to this long-standing issue? According to a Chinese insider, an ‘economical’ version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is on the way, a chipset designed to offer top performance but aimed at devices more affordable than flagship.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in an economical version: what we know about the new variant

The rumors come from Digital Chat Station, and are also based on a Geekbench sighting. On the Geekbench benchmarking platform, an unannounced chipset labeled SM8850-1-AB has appeared, with results very similar to those of the current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (SM8850-AC).

We will probably have nearly identical specifications, with some compromises in terms of clock frequency or other optimizations designed to reduce the final price. The new SoC is expected to debut on mid-to-high-end devices, at under 4,000 yuan (about €518 at the current exchange rate).

At the moment the new chipset is still only a rumor; however, it seems a plausible possibility given the current state of the tech landscape. The Elite Gen 5 series is already quite rich and has 3 variants to its credit:

• SM8850-AC: lo Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 classico;
• SM8850-1-AD: the For Galaxy version, with an increased clock frequency and some optimizations in collaboration with Samsung. Initially released as an exclusive for the Galaxy S26 series, it was released for everyone as 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Edition;
• SM8850-5-AC: an alternative version equipped with a 7-core design (instead of 8), designed for foldable models such as OPPO Find N6.

The debut of the SoC SM8850-1-AB is expected to occur by the end of the year; there isn’t yet a date or a release window, and confirmations from Qualcomm are still lacking.