Qualcomm to unveil Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 at early summit in September 2025

Qualcomm has revealed its Snapdragon Summit dates and plans to unveil powerful new chips for smartphones and laptops ahead of the competition.

Qualcomm has announced key details about its upcoming Snapdragon Summit set for September 23 to 25, 2025, in Hawaii. The event marks a shift to an earlier date compared to last year, signalling the company’s intent to lead the market with new technology releases.

Qualcomm will unveil Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and X Elite 2 at its September 2025 summit. (REUTERS)

By MD Ijaj Khan

Ijaj Khan is a technology journalist and Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, with over three years of experience covering the consumer technology industry. His work spans smartphones, laptops, wearables, gaming, appliances and AI - from hands-on reviews, comparison and buying guides to breaking news and in-depth features that help readers cut through the noise and make informed decisions. Before joining HT Tech, he worked with Jagran New Media, where he sharpened his instincts for fast-paced digital reporting. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in English Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Whether he's testing the latest flagship smartphone, tracking a major AI announcement, or putting a gaming laptop through its paces, Ijaj approaches every story with the same goal - making technology feel relevant and easy to understand for everyday users, not just enthusiasts. When he's not in front of a screen for work, he's usually travelling to a new city, hunting for great food, or keeping tabs on what's next in tech before everyone else catches on.

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Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 to Headline the Event

The focus of this year's summit will be the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 (model SM8850), the successor to last year's 8 Elite chip. Qualcomm plans to produce this new chipset using TSMC’s N3P manufacturing process. This move is expected to deliver improvements in power efficiency and overall performance.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 will introduce the Adreno 840 GPU, which is reported to boost graphics performance by up to 30 percent compared to the previous generation. The chipset may feature a CPU design with six high-performance cores plus two efficiency cores, enhanced Pegasus CPU cores, and clock speeds possibly reaching 5GHz. This setup aims to provide faster processing power across various tasks.

Another notable feature expected in the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 is support for LPDDR6 RAM, which will offer higher data transfer speeds. This addition positions the chip as a strong competitor to Apple’s iPhone 17 series, anticipated to launch just weeks before Qualcomm’s event.

Brands such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, iQOO, and HONOR are likely to be among the first to equip their flagship smartphones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, with device launches expected by late September or early October.

Snapdragon X Elite 2 to Target Windows Laptops

Qualcomm will also highlight its Snapdragon X Elite 2 platform during the summit, which targets next-generation Windows laptops. The original Snapdragon X Elite, introduced in 2023, positioned Qualcomm as an alternative to Intel and AMD in ultrabooks and convertible laptops. The new version is expected to continue this trend, focusing on flagship Windows devices like Microsoft’s Surface series. However, this chipset may not reach the market until 2026.

Qualcomm’s early scheduling of the Snapdragon Summit and the details shared suggest the company aims to establish a strong lead in the mobile and PC chip markets as 2025 progresses.

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