We're used to the fact that the last quarter of each year sees the announcement of new Snapdragon processors. However, this year, rumors have emerged that indicate a significant change in the launch schedule for the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Rumors suggested that the first devices with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 would arrive in late September. For this to happen, Qualcomm would need to announce the chipset earlier than usual, and this has just confirmed during Computex.
Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 launch confirmed for late September
Qualcomm held a brief presentation at Computex today and confirmed that the next Snapdragon Summit will take place from September 23rd to 25th. That’s almost four months away. For those who don’t know, Snapdragon Summit is a regular event where the company showcases the latest and greatest Snapdragon chips. So the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 is scheduled to launch at the end of September.
Given this, we can expect intense competition between smartphone brands, especially Chinese ones, who will strive to be the first to announce a smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.
Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, and Realme are the usual brands that fight for the title of “first” every year, and we are sure that the situation will not change in 2025. We expect teasers and even actual launches to appear soon after Qualcomm’s announcement.
Chinese brands are usually the first to adopt a new Snapdragon SoC. However, their initial releases are often limited to the domestic market. Given the timing shift, we can expect Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 smartphones to hit the global market in late 2025 or early 2026. In other words, the global rollout will occur well ahead of schedule.
It should be noted that the new schedule puts Samsung in a rather awkward position. After all, the company usually holds its second Unpacked — the presentation of new foldable smartphones — in July or August. However, according to rumors, the launch of foldable smartphones this year will take place in early July, so Samsung is limited in time to make them “cooler” with the current flagship SoCs. It will be three months before Qualcomm releases a new flagship, and other brands can release more innovative foldable smartphones with the latest SoCs.
