Outside of the flagship realm, very few people care about the chip that goes into their smartphones. For those phones where every last drop of power can make a competitive difference, a manufacturer’s choice of SoC play a massive role. It’s why October’s chip releases were so important.
Now, there’s word of a chip release for some time in 2025, aiming to bring power to those smartphone models not willing to pay for the pinnacle of chips. Qualcomm looks set to bring a powered-down version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite to market, giving some of those lower-priced performance-focused devices a good option to lean on.
An Upcoming Qualcomm Chipset Has Been Hinted At; Probably The Snapdragon 8s Elite
One thing that makes Qualcomm such a powerful choice for most smartphone manufacturers is the wealth of options that it provides—whether you’re looking for the biggest chip in town or something that is better suited for devices in the lower mid-range. Qualcomm covers the entire gamut with its options.
There’s one tier you might not consider too often—the one for devices that can technically be considered flagships, but aren’t trying to go head-to-head with the S24 Ultras of the world. Instead, these devices, something of “budget flagships”, compete with devices like the Pixel 9, Galaxy S24, and the OnePlus 12R. While some use the latest chips, others opt for older flagship SoCs or mid-cycle flagship options like the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.
Now, speaking of mid-cycle flagship SoCs, word from Digital Chat Station on Weibo hints the existence of a Qualcomm chip with model number SM8735. There’s no name attached to it at the moment, but it seems like that chip might be the Snapdragon 8s Elite (let’s maintain that as the working title). This will offer flagship power for a lot less that the 8 Elite.
The New Chip Will Be Between The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 And Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 In Performance
As expected, this mysterious chip isn’t going to be second to only the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’ll be lower in performance than that, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from last year beating it out entirely. However, it will beat out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 from the year before that.
With the chance to get a new chip with that much power for less than the Snapdragon 8 Elite, we’ll likely see a lot of attention from the OEMs that like to make “almost-flagships”. I’m looking right at you, Motorola.
This Chip Launch Is Expected For March 2025
To add to that news, Yogesh Brar on X has corroborated the SM8735 chip, but also mentioned a second chip—the SM7775, which he referred to as the Snapdragon 7+. Both chips are expected to launch alongside one another, and that will be in March 2025, according to his tweet.
Digital Chat Station says that we can expect the very first devices with the Snapdragon 8s Elite to launch in April. It won’t be surprising to see the Snapdragon 7+ also make its first real appearance in the same month.
