Qualcomm Snapdragon SM8845 SoC could be launched as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5

Previous leaks from Weibo talked about an interesting new Qualcomm SoC codenamed SM8845. It was slated to sit somewhere between the Snapdragon 8 Elite (SM8750) and the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. Digital Chat Station over at Weibo has now revealed what the chip could be called. It is tipped to power affordable flagship smartphones next year, such as the OnePlus Ace 6 Pro. 

Qualcomm may release the SM8845 as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. It could cause confusion among end users because the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 was ultimately rebranded as the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Furthermore, it cannot be considered a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 successor because the SM8845 is tipped to arrive with Qualcomm's in-house Nuvia cores and no off-the-shelf Arm Cortex ones like the 8s Gen 4.

Ideally, it should have been called the Snapdragon 8+ Elite, but Qualcomm has long ditched Plus-branded SoCs. Exactly when it will launch remains to be seen, but it should be after the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 surfaces later this year. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 might be Qualcomm's low-cost alternative for OEMs that cannot afford the supposedly expensive Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.

That said, previous rumours also talked about a second, more affordable Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 variant manufactured on Samsung Foundry's 2 nm SF2 node. On paper, it should outperform the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 due to a node advantage and newer Nuvia cores. However, its existence entirely depends on Samsung's yields. Initially said to be sub-par, subsequent reports stated they have improved over time.