Qualcomm might be changing course with its mid-cycle chipset strategy. According to a leak from the well-known tipster Digital Chat Station, the company has no plans to release a Snapdragon 8s Gen 5 in 2026.
That would be a break from a trend Qualcomm has followed for the past two years, where “s” variants of its flagship chips have been used to power slightly more affordable smartphones without fully committing to flagship pricing.
The current Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, labeled internally as SM8735, was launched as a step-down alternative to the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite. Similarly, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (SM8635) played that role in 2024. But this pattern might not continue.
No Snapdragon 8s Gen 5 next year
According to the leak, Qualcomm has no chip with the expected SM8835 designation in development. That suggests the company is skipping the 8s Gen 5 entirely and focusing instead on its full-fledged Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 or SM8850.
Without an 8s Gen 5, the so-called “sub-flagship” smartphones — models that typically land just under the premium tier — might be forced to adopt older flagship processors.
The tipster claims that many upcoming devices will instead turn to the current flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite. While that chip is expected to become cheaper over time, it will likely remain more expensive than a dedicated mid-tier “s” variant would have been.
It’s not immediately clear why Qualcomm is abandoning the S-series next year. However, in the absence of an 8s Gen 5, smartphone makers will have to get creative (or just spend more) if they want to keep hitting that increasingly tricky sub-flagship sweet spot.
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