Qualcomm appears to be preparing a lower-powered variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with early benchmark listings suggesting a seven-core configuration that trims one performance core while retaining flagship clock speeds.
Geekbench entries linked to an upcoming Oppo device indicate that this new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 version features seven CPU cores rather than eight, which signals a strategic option for manufacturers seeking efficiency gains or cost control.
The listed configuration shows clock speeds of up to 4.6GHz on the prime core and 3.6GHz across performance clusters, matching the standard eight-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in peak frequency terms.
Single-core results reportedly reach 3,524 points in Geekbench 6.5, placing the seven-core variant close to existing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices and suggesting limited impact on burst performance.
GPU output appears unchanged, with OpenCL scores around 24,103, indicating that graphics capabilities remain aligned with the full eight-core version despite the reduced CPU core count.
Multi-core performance, however, trails the eight-core model by roughly 17% in early benchmarks, reflecting the expected trade-off when removing a performance core from a high-end mobile chipset.
Qualcomm previously introduced a similar seven-core variant with the original Snapdragon 8 Elite, and that configuration powered select foldables rather than mainstream flagship smartphones.
Oppo’s upcoming Find N6 reportedly uses the new seven-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, positioning the chip within premium foldable devices where sustained efficiency can matter as much as peak throughput.
Manufacturers sometimes adopt such variants to balance thermal performance, battery life, and pricing, particularly in slim foldable designs that operate under tighter cooling constraints than traditional slab phones.
The seven-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is expected to debut on March 17, when Oppo presents the Find N6 globally, although Qualcomm has not formally announced the chipset.
It remains unclear whether other Android OEMs will adopt this configuration or reserve it for specific form factors, leaving the eight-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 as the primary reference for 2026 flagship performance tiers.
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