Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 5
This year’s flagship against last year’s value flagship
Overview
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6
Process: 2nm
Announced: Sep 2026
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5
Process: 3nm
Announced: Nov 2025
Benchmarks
No retail phone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 has been lab-tested yet, so there are no scores to compare. They will appear here once one has.
At A Glance | ||
| Specification | 8 Elite Gen 6  | 8 Gen 5  |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Qualcomm | Qualcomm |
| Part number | SM8950 | SM8845 |
| Announced | Sep 2026 | Nov 2025 |
| Process node | 2nm | 3nm |
| Found in | Xiaomi 18 Pro | OnePlus 15R, iQOO 15R, Realme Neo8 |
CPU | ||
| CPU architecture | Qualcomm Oryon | Qualcomm Oryon (3rd gen) |
| Core count | 8 | 8 |
| Core layout | 2 prime + 6 performance | 2 prime + 6 performance |
| Prime core clock | 5.0GHz | 3.8GHz |
| Performance core clock | 4.0GHz | 3.32GHz |
| Total L2 cache | 16MB | 16MB |
GPU and gaming | ||
| GPU | Adreno | Adreno 829 |
| Ray tracing | Hardware with Lumen global illumination | Hardware with global illumination |
| Graphics APIs | Vulkan 1.4, OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 3.0 FP | Vulkan 1.3, OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 3.0 FP |
| Snapdragon Elite Gaming | Full suite | Full suite |
AI and NPU | ||
| NPU | Hexagon NPU | Hexagon NPU |
| NPU configuration | 12 scalar, 8 vector, 1 tensor, 1 element | 6 scalar, 8 vector, 1 accelerator |
| AI precisions | INT2, INT4, INT8, INT16, FP8, FP16 | INT2, INT4, INT8, INT16, FP8, FP16 |
| Mixed precision | Supported | Supported |
| Hexagon Direct Link | Supported | Supported |
| Micro Tile Inferencing | Supported | Supported |
| Sensing Hub | Dual micro NPUs | Dual micro NPUs |
| Always-sensing cameras | 2 | 2 |
Memory and storage | ||
| Memory type | LPDDR5X, LPDDR6 | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 5300MHz | 4800MHz |
| Memory speed | 10600MT/s | 9600MT/s |
| Max RAM | 24GB | 24GB |
| Storage | UFS 5.0 | UFS 4.1 |
Camera and ISP | ||
| ISP | Qualcomm Spectra AI ISP | Qualcomm Spectra AI ISP |
| Number of ISPs | 3 | 3 |
| ISP bit depth | 20-bit | 20-bit |
| Max photo resolution | 320MP | 320MP |
| Single camera with zero shutter lag | 108MP | 108MP at 30fps |
| Triple camera with zero shutter lag | 64MP | 48MP at 30fps |
| Slow motion | 1080p at 960fps | 1080p at 480fps |
| HDR sensor types | 16-bit LOFIC, DCG+VS, DCG, Staggered, QDOL, Less Blanking, Multi-frame HDR | LOFIC, DCG+VS, DCG, Staggered, QDOL, Less Blanking, Multi-frame HDR |
| 10-bit HEIF photos | Supported | Supported |
| AI video segmentation | 4K at 60fps | 4K at 60fps |
| AI skin and sky tones | 4K at 60fps | 4K at 60fps |
| Low-light video | 4K at 60fps | Night Vision 3.0 |
| Video super resolution | Supported | Supported |
| AI multi-frame noise reduction | Supported | Supported |
Display and video | ||
| On-device max resolution | 4K+ at 120Hz | 4K+ at 120Hz |
| On-device max refresh | 240Hz at QHD+ | 240Hz at QHD+ |
| External max resolution | 8K at 30Hz | 8K at 30Hz |
| External high refresh | 4K at 120Hz | 4K at 120Hz |
| Display HDR formats | HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Dolby Vision | HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Dolby Vision |
| Video decode | AV1, H.265, VP9 | AV1, H.265, VP9 |
| Playback HDR formats | HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision | HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision |
Cellular | ||
| Modem | Qualcomm X105 | Snapdragon X80 |
| 5G Advanced | Supported | Ready |
| Peak download | 14.8Gbps | 10Gbps |
| Peak upload | 4.2Gbps | 3.5Gbps |
| Downlink carrier aggregation | 6xCA | 6xCA |
| mmWave | Supported | Supported |
| mmWave carriers | 8 | 8 |
| mmWave MIMO | 2x2 | 2x2 |
| Sub-6GHz MIMO | 4x6 | 4x6 |
| Receive antennas | 6 | 6 |
| 5G modes | SA, NSA, FDD, TDD | SA, NSA, FDD, TDD |
| 3GPP release | Release 19 | Release 18 |
| 5G AI Processor | Gen 5 | Gen 2 |
| 5G PowerSave | Supported | Gen 5 |
| Smart Transmit | Plus | Gen 5 |
| Satellite | NR-NTN, NB-NTN | NB-NTN |
| Dual SIM | Turbo DSDA | DSDA Gen 2 |
Wi-Fi and connectivity | ||
| Wi-Fi system | FastConnect 8800 | FastConnect 7900 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 8 | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Wi-Fi standards | 802.11bn, 802.11be, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11be, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Wi-Fi peak | 11.6Gbps | 5.8Gbps |
| HBS Multi-Link | Supported | Supported |
| Bluetooth | 6.3 | 6.0 |
| LE Audio | Supported | Supported |
| UWB | Supported | Supported |
| UWB standards | IEEE 802.15.4z, FiRa, CCC, CSA Aliro 1.0 | IEEE 802.15.4z, FiRa, CCC |
| USB | USB 3.1 Gen 2 | USB 3.1 Gen 2 |
| USB-C | Supported | Supported |
Location | ||
| Satellite systems | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC |
| GNSS frequencies | L1, L2C, L5 | L1, L2C, L5 |
| AI-based GNSS | Gen 3 | Gen 3 |
| Sensor-Assisted Positioning | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Sidewalk-level walking navigation | Supported | Supported |
| Lane-level car navigation | Supported | Supported |
Audio | ||
| Audio platform | Snapdragon Sound | Snapdragon Sound |
| Bluetooth codecs | aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless | aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless |
| XPAN | Supported | Supported |
| Speaker amplifier | Aqstic smart speaker amplifier | Aqstic Speaker Max |
| Playback THD+N | -108dB | -108dB |
| Spatial audio with head tracking | Supported | Supported |
Charging | ||
| Fast charging | Quick Charge 5 | Quick Charge 5 |
Security | ||
| Root of trust | Trust Management Engine | Trust Management Engine |
| Trusted Execution Environment | Supported | Supported |
| Hypervisor | Type-1 | Type-1 |
| Fingerprint sensors | 3D Sonic Sensor, 3D Sonic Max | 3D Sonic Sensor, 3D Sonic Max |
Specifications from the manufacturers’ official spec sheets · Updated 2026-10-20