Smartphone Firms to Drop Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Chipmaker's Affordable Alternative in 2025, Tipster Claims

Smartphone firms could move away from using flagship chipsets on their handsets and equip some models with a less powerful processor in 2025, according to a tipster. Instead of using the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Elite on their upcoming high-end smartphones, these companies are tipped to introduce certain models that are equipped with a less advanced chipset. The decision could help brands cut costs of the processor, which are expected to rise alongside chipmakers’ use of advanced fabrication technologies.

Why Smartphone Makers Might Switch Away From the Purported Snapdragon 8 Elite 2

It has only been a few weeks since Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite as the company’s most powerful mobile processor to date, but tipster Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) has already leaked details of next year’s flagship chipset. According to the leaker, who has a good track record when it comes to publishing details of unannounced smartphones, some high-end phones in 2025 may not feature the top-of-the-line processor.

Photo Credit: Weibo/ Digital Chat Station

With the arrival of the more complicated Snapdragon 8 Elite, smartphone makers are able to offer more powerful handsets, but the cost of producing these models has also risen. Next year, the tipster claims that some handsets will be equipped with an SM8735 chipset, which is expected to debut as the Snapdragon 8s Elite.

It’s worth noting that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 that was launched last year bears the model number SM8635, which suggests that the SM8735 model would have arrived as the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 before Qualcomm rebranded its flagship processor branding.

Over the past few years, Samsung has launched some Galaxy S handsets with an Exynos chipset, while the top-of-the-line Ultra model is always equipped with a flagship Snapdragon processor. The tipster suggests that makers could also use the Snapdragon 8s Elite in addition to the purported Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 (SM8850), on high-end phones in 2025.

As a result, handsets like OnePlus’ number series and Redmi’s K series, could adopt the Snapdragon 8s Elite on the less expensive model (such as the successor to the Redmi K80), while the “Pro” model could feature the high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset.

It’s worth taking these claims with a grain of salt — Qualcomm recently unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip in October, which means we don’t expect the chipmaker to launch its successor until Q4 2025. However, we might hear more about the purported Snapdragon 8s Elite, in the coming months, going by the launch timeline of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, which arrived in March 2024.