Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 might have upgraded 'Pegasus' CPU cores

Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC reportedly shares the same CPU cluster, but the new Gen5 chips will sport new "Pegasus" CPU cores.

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The latest rumors on Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 are coming from @For_Ataraxia on X, who says that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 features custom "Phoenix" cores, but the new Gen 5 chip will have upgraded "Pegasus" cores. Both of the SoCs will keep the same 2+6 CPU cluster, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 featuring performance cores only and possibly up to 4.0GHz speeds.

We should expect Qualcomm to continue using just performance cores for its upgraded Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, with another leaker saying that both of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Gen 5 chips will have the same "Slice" GPU architecture. These are just leaks, and things can change at a whim... Qualcomm might go in a different direction with its GPU, especially if it wants to better fight the likes of Apple and Samsung in future SoC designs.

Qualcomm should unveil its next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset sometime in 2025, with the company's all-systems going into getting its Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 into smartphones and other devices this year. We do know that both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chips will be made on TSMC's new N3E process nod.

Other rumors suggest a multi-fab approach, where multiple foundries, including Samsung Foundry and TSMC, could manufacture Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip. This move would allow the company to avoid disruptions and avoid using a single company to manufacture its important new SoCs.