Snapdragon 8 Elite phones: the list of smartphones with Qualcomm's chip
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite phones list is growing every week, replacing what we expected from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4
⚙️ Qualcomm’s new 3nm chip to power many top Android phones in 2025
📆 First phones globally launched from Xiaomi, Honor, Asus, and Realme
🇺🇸 First US Snapdragon 8 Elite phones: OnePlus 13 & Samsung Galaxy S25
⚙️ AI-focused 8-core Oryon CPU sees a 45% CPU performance boost
🎮 The GPU sees a 40% gaming and 35% ray tracing uptick
🍎 Qualcomm outperforms Apple’s A18 Pro chip in many benchmarks
The Shortcut’s performance tests of the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite phones show this new Android chipset outperforms Apple’s A18 chip in the iPhone 16 Pro. It’s not called Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, as expected, but the 8 Elite is the official sequel to the premier chip found in Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones.
The best news is that the Snapdragon 8 Elite phones list will grow into 2025. The first US smartphones with the chipset will launch from OnePlus and Samsung in January 2025, according to our extensive list below. They all bring a new level of performance to next-generation Android phones.
Qualcomm’s official Snapdragon 8 Elite launch event was in Hawaii in October. There, the company hosted The Shortcut and other technology publications to preview and benchmark its next-generation Android chipset. Here’s what we know so far.
Snapdragon 8 Elite phones list
Globally, the first four Snapdragon 8 Elite smartphones out of the gate are the Xiaomi 15, Honor Magic 7 Pro, Asus ROG Phone 9, and the RealmeGT 7 Pro. The OnePlus 13, which was already announced in China, is expected to launch in the US in January.
Xiaomi 15
Realme GT7 Pro
Honor Magic 7 Pro
Asus ROG Phone 9
OnePlus 13
Samsung Galaxy S25
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
It’s likely to power the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, OnePlus 13 and almost every flagship Android phone in 2025, offering a “generative AI powerhouse,” according to Qualcomm. Its System on a Chip utilizes an 8-core Oryon CPU for more on-device AI and an Adreno 830 GPU for up to a 40% boost in gaming performance.
That Galaxy S25 Ultra release date and Samsung’s iPhone 16-crushed top-tier specs aren’t very far away, but the OnePlus 13 may land in the US a bit sooner.
Which phones will the Snapdragon 8 Elite be in?
You can expect all major phone manufacturers to use in their flagships by the end of 2025 – just not the rumored Google Pixel 10 and Apple’s iPhone 17 Air.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the major star of the list. As teased during the OneUI 7 reveal, it is expected to launch in late January, but it won’t be the first.
Samsung is no longer leading the pack, as Chinese phone manufacturers now like to rush out devices with the latest chipset to wow consumers. The OnePlus 13 might be among the next phones in the United States to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite System on a Chip, as it recently leaked with a new wood finish.
Rumored Snapdragon 8 Elite phones list
Officially, Qualcomm said that Snapdragon 8 Elite phone manufacturers will include “ASUS, Honor, iQOO, OnePlus, OPPO, RealMe, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and more.”
Based on that information and what we know about last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen list, here’s our list of rumored Snapdragon 8 Elite phones.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
Motorola Razr+ 2025
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
Oppo Find X8 Ultra
Vivo iQOO 13
Vivo iQOO 13 Pro
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 10 Pro
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 10 Pro Plus
Snapdragon 8 Elite specs
We’re basically getting a sneak peek at what the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and other Android smartphones will be capable of three months in advance.
At the heart of the Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm's Oryon CPU, an 8-core CPU configuration with two 4.32GHz power cores and six 3.53GHz smaller cores. It'll have both a 45% single-core and 45% multi-core improvement on the 8 Gen 3 chip. Web browsing is expected to be 62% faster. Qualcomm is sticking with DDR5 RAM, but upgrading it to a 5.3GHz dual-channel LPDDR5X RAM.
Snapdragon 8 Elite gaming performance
When it comes to gaming, Qualcomm says it'll have a 40% performance improvement with a 35% boost in ray tracing via a new sliced architecture. Basically, it seems like Qualcomm wants to match what Apple is capable of with its A18 Pro chipset and ability to run triple-A games on the iPhone 16 Pro series. We'll have performance benchmarks to prove all of these specs soon.
Snapdragon 8 Elite camera ISP
While we don't know the Samsung S25 Ultra camera capabilities, the Snapdragon 8 Elite gives us some insight because the Camera ISP allows for 33% more throughput with up to 4.3GP/s. It allows for limitless segmentation (up to 250 different layers) and comes with features like AI relighting, AI Pet Suite and Video Magic Eraser onboard.
Just as important as any of the specs above, all of this power is nothing without energy efficiency. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite is touting a 27% powering savings overall. Breaking down the number, its specs suggest a 44% CPU, 40% GPU, and 45% AI performance per watt.
The Shortcut will continue to test and review Qualcomm’s new chipset between now and CES 2025. Stay tuned for benchmarking scores in the next update.