Snapdragon 8 Elite has Oryon CPU for notable performance and efficiency gains 

Qualcomm today announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite that brings its Oryon CPU to Android smartphones after debuting on PCs earlier this year. 

With the introduction of Oryon to smartphones, Qualcomm is using the “Elite” brand instead of Snapdragon 8 Gen [x].

The 3nm (TSMC) Snapdragon 8 Elite has a second-generation Oryon CPU that has been optimized for mobile. There are 2 Prime (4.32 GHz) and six Performance (3.53 GHz) cores, with both sets of cores custom designed. Each cluster has 12MB of L2 cache, with the combined 24MB allowing for “insanely fast data retrieval.”

There are no Efficiency cores, with the number steadily declining in the past two generations, as Qualcomm believes the Performance cores today offer the best combination of performance and power. 

This is a brand new microarchitecture, with a feature called “Instant wake” to reduce frequent power cycling of individual cores:

…typically, a power-up sequence involves a reset code to prepare the core for operation. We’ve eliminated the sequence by using hardware that allows the core to execute the next instruction immediately.

Qualcomm says Oryon makes possible a 45% improvement in both single and multi-core performance over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Similarly, the Adreno GPU, with its new sliced architecture, is 40% faster with a 35% increase in ray tracing performance.

Compared to last year’s chip, Qualcomm touts 44% improved power efficiency for the CPU and 40% for the GPU, with a 27% increase in overall power savings. In practice, you can game for 2.5 hours longer. 

Qualcomm’s AI Engine incorporates the CPU, GPU, NPU, memory, and Sensing Hub. Oryon helps initiate AI workloads and handles heavy lifting (like ultra-low, first-inference latency), while the Hexagon NPU is 45% faster with 45% improved performance per watt. 

The NPU is deeply integrated with what Qualcomm calls the “AI ISP” (image signal processor) for features like an on-device 30FPS Video Object Eraser and capturing “vivid” 4K60 videos in “near darkness.” Truepic that authenticates photos as real (and not AI-generated) with the C2PA standard now works for videos and audio.

There’s support for dual-channel LP-DDR5x memory (up to 24GB) to better support generative AI use cases. On-device display support is unchanged with 4K @ 60Hz, but QHD+ @ 240 (from 144) Hz is now possible. 

ASUS, Honor, iQOO, OnePlus, OPPO, RealMe, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and more will be releasing Snapdragon 8 Elite devices, with the first launches “in the coming weeks.” Samsung explicitly being included is a first compared to previous years. 

Note: Qualcomm paid for travel and accommodations for this launch event, but had no input on editorial content.