Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 promises more power — without a price hike for 2026 flagships

With Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 on the way, the next wave of Android flagships could deliver serious performance when they arrive in late 2025 and early 2026. And while better specs often mean higher prices, a new leak suggests this chip won’t push phone prices up — a rare win for buyers.

Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, set to debut in late September, will be priced similarly to the current Snapdragon 8 Elite. That’s good news for flagship buyers, especially with memory prices on the rise — LPDDR5X DRAM costs are already up 5%, with more hikes likely by the end of the year, according to Weibo tipster DCS.

Built on TSMC’s 3nm process, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 will feature second-generation Oryon CPU cores, reportedly delivering up to 25% better performance. Geekbench 6 scores have crossed 4,000 in single-core tests and hit around 11,000 in multi-core, if early numbers are to be believed.

The new Adreno 840 GPU is also expected to bring a 30% jump in graphics performance — enough to handle demanding tasks like 120Hz gaming or high-res video editing with ease. On top of that, AI processing upgrades will power advanced multi-modal AI features such as Samsung’s Real-Time Visual AI.

With a September 2025 reveal on the cards, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 looks set to deliver meaningful upgrades without driving prices up. If that holds true, Samsung’s Galaxy S26 could be one of 2026’s standout flagships for both power and value.

(Source: DCS on Weibo)