A fresh industry leak has confirmed that Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8s Elite chipset will not feature the anticipated Oryon CPU cores, contrary to some earlier speculation. Instead, the chip will continue with Arm Cortex-based architecture, positioning it as a performance upgrade over the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, rather than a direct sibling to the premium-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite.
First spotted in January powering the rumored iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro, the Snapdragon 8s Elite is now better understood thanks to an updated spec breakdown:
| SoC | Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8s Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node | 4nm | 4nm | 3nm |
| Prime Core | 1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.0GHz | 1x Cortex-X4 @ 3.21GHz | 2x Oryon @ 4.32GHz |
| Mid Cores | 4x Cortex-A720 @ 2.8GHz | 3x Cortex-A720 @ 3.01GHz + 2x @ 2.80GHz | 6x Oryon @ 3.53GHz |
| Efficiency Cores | 3x Cortex-A520 @ 2.0GHz | 2x Cortex-A520 @ 2.02GHz | – |
| GPU | Adreno 735 | Adreno 825 | Adreno 830 |
The Snapdragon 8s Elite will use a 4nm process, feature a single Cortex-X4 prime core clocked at 3.21GHz, five Cortex-A720 cores split across two frequency tiers, and two Cortex-A520 efficiency cores. The graphics will be handled by an Adreno 825 GPU, offering a clear upgrade over the Adreno 735 in the 8s Gen 3 but falling short of the elite-level Adreno 830.
The absence of custom Oryon cores, which power Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite, places the 8s Elite as more of a mid-premium solution, offering solid performance at a more accessible power and cost level.
According to the leak, the chip is expected to score around 2 million on AnTuTu, making it a viable choice for upper-midrange smartphones focused on delivering near-flagship performance without the highest premium price tag.
With launch timelines still under wraps, the Snapdragon 8s Elite is expected to debut in a series of new-generation phones in the coming months — particularly from brands like iQOO, Xiaomi, and Realme, which often adopt Qualcomm’s ‘s’ series chips for performance-focused budget flagships.
