Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Chip to Power Affordable Flagship Phones, OnePlus 15R to Be First to Offer

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a new mobile platform designed to bring flagship-level performance to more affordable devices. The new chip is part of the chipmaker's new strategy to categorise premium performance so that the phones powered by it can suit lower prices. While the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be aimed at top-notch phones, the standard Gen 5 will appeal to people willing to sacrifice a few performance notches to fit a budget.

The first phone to ship with the chipset will be the OnePlus 15R, scheduled for launch globally on December 17.

What's new in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip?

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is built on Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU architecture, featuring two prime cores at 3.8GHz and six performance cores at 3.32GHz. While it is similar to the one on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the clock speeds have been reduced from 4.6GHz and 3.8GHz, respectively. That is how the company, which leads the mobile chip market for the premium category, has offset the cost compared to its top-end chip. Qualcomm claims a 35 per cent improvement in single-threaded CPU performance and a 42 per cent improvement in power efficiency compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

The GPU also gets an upgrade, using the new Adreno unit with slice-based architecture that delivers an 11 per cent performance increase and 28 per cent better power efficiency. Qualcomm specifically highlighted improvement in real-world workloads, stating Genshin Impact consumes 39 per cent less power than on Gen 3. The Hexagon AI NPU will aid artificial intelligence-based tasks, but its performance will be slightly less good than what the Elite offers. However, the chip does not support the latest UFS 4.1 storage standards, capping the read-and-write speeds during data transfer.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip uses the X80 modem, offering slightly slower peak 5G speeds compared to the Elite. Qualcomm claims speeds of up to 10Gbps in ideal conditions. It also houses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband (UWB) support, which will be similar to that of the Elite.

On the camera front, the platform supports a 20-bit ISP with four times more dynamic range and NPU-assisted real-time image processing. Low-light photography is expected to improve with multi-frame fusion, a technique that blends multiple exposures to reduce noise and retain detail.

OnePlus 15R Becomes First to Use Snapdragon 8 Gen 5

OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 15R will be the first phone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. The 15R continues the brand’s R-series positioning of performance-centric flagships targeting users who want top-tier speed without paying ultra-premium pricing.

OnePlus claims a 36 per cent CPU boost, 11 per cent GPU uplift, and up to 46 per cent better AI performance over the previous-generation R-series phones.

“OnePlus has always led the way in speed, and I’m thrilled that OnePlus 15R will be equipped with Snapdragon 8 Gen 5,” said Robin Liu, CEO of OnePlus India. “We’ve worked closely with Qualcomm to optimise the platform, and I’m excited to see how users respond at launch.”

The OnePlus 15R is set to be launched in India on December 17.

Why This Chip Matters

Unlike the Snapdragon 8 Elite found in top-end devices, the 8 Gen 5 is expected to power more accessible flagship phones, signalling a shift in pricing and performance balance for 2026. If OEMs adopt it aggressively, phones under ₹50,000 could soon offer near-ultra-flagship performance. With OnePlus 15R leading the adoption, Qualcomm expects Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 to go mainstream in early next year, with brands such as Motorola and Vivo already planning their phones.

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