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ProPakistani
New Variant Of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 May Be Designed to Cut Costs
Qualcomm has quietly announced a new variant of its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, designated SM8850-1-AB, which features the same CPU and GPU performance but reduces the dedicated Adreno High Performance Memory from 18MB to 12MB. This move is interpreted as an effort to provide manufacturers with a cost-effective option while smartphone production costs rise due to increasing memory prices. While Qualcomm has not explicitly confirmed cost reduction as the intention, this variant will debut in the upcoming Redmi K100 Pro series, set to launch on August 11.
MonitorConfidence: MediumShort term horizon
Published 4 Aug 2026, 14:55 UTC2 min read
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Summary
TL;DR
- New Snapdragon variant aimed at cost reduction introduced by Qualcomm
- Chip retains same CPU and GPU performance specifications
- Dedicated memory reduced from 18MB to 12MB
- First device to utilize the new variant is the Redmi K100 Pro series
- Market speculations suggest other devices may adopt this chipset
Interesting facts
- The new variant is specifically designed for gaming-focused smartphones.
- The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 already supports major gaming technologies.
- This chipset could aid manufacturers in navigating rising costs in the semiconductor market.