The era of ultra powerful flagship phones with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has begun. Xiaomi takes the lead with the Xiaomi 17 series, although there are a bunch of other smartphones in the pipeline too. There’s the OnePlus 15, iQOO 15, Realme GT 8 Pro, and a few others ready to flex the world’s most powerful silicon from Qualcomm (and compared to others as well), in an all-out brawl of dominance. Check out our pick for the flagship cadre in this edition.
Xiaomi 17 series
Well, we couldn’t start with something less obvious and imminent. Xiaomi jumped the gun as the first smartphone maker to roll out phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 chip inside. Dubbed the Xiaomi 17 Series (after skipping ‘16’), the series brings a lot to the table, with models including the base 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max. These phones look uncannily similar to those of the iPhone 17 series (not that we are implying anything here).
Xiaomi 17 series has already been announced, launching on September 30th in China, although its availability outside the home country is awaited. We know for sure that Xiaomi launches the series globally a few months after its Chinese launch, but hey, at least, it picked up the title as the first phone with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 inside.
The specs across the trio are almost the same except for the difference in display size (6.3” vs 6.9”), the actual sizes of the devices, a secondary display (only on Pro models), a periscope lens (Pro models), and varying battery sizes (7,000 vs. 6,300 vs. 7,500mAh, respectively).
OnePlus 15
It’s not just Xiaomi, but OnePlus is gearing up for its flagship launch as well. Dubbed as OnePlus 15, the upcoming smartphone could also become the first to pack in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5, which was launched globally. The phone is likely to look more like the OnePlus 13T, featuring a flat display with ultra-thin bezels at just 1.15mm all around.
OnePlus 15 will be deploying its glacier battery technology, summing up 7,000mAh of juice paired with 120W wired charging. If it is true, it will surely outpace Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the two major rivals in the market. The chipset is packed with a max 4.6GHz frequency and will have Adreno 835/840 GPU on board.
Interestingly, many other smartphone makers, right from Meizu, Motorola, iQOO, Vivo, among others, are in line to get their hands on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5, and we have tried to list the majority of them here.
Realme GT 8 Pro
Realme has always packed a lot of beef in its GT series. The upcoming Realme GT 8 Pro will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 3nm powerhouse that promises a significant leap in performance. Realme GT 8 Pro specs include a flat 2K display, a 200MP periscope telephoto shooter, dual symmetrical speakers for stereo sound, and a beefy 7,000mAh battery under the hood. Realme GT 8 Pro is slated to launch in October in China, followed by a global launch a few weeks apart.
iQOO 15
Vivo’s performance-based brand iQOO is back with yet another flagship phone. Dubbed as iQOO 15, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 SoC, and we have seen this teased time and again. Clad in a majestic color-changing back panel, the phone brings a Samsung M14 display panel on a 6.85” QHD+ OLED display boasting a 144Hz refresh rate and 2,600 nits of brightness, while some estimate it to present 6,000 nits of peak brightness.
The device pairs a periscope telephoto lens capable of reaching 100x digital zoom. There’s a 7,000mAh battery under the hood paired alongside 100W wired and wireless charging tech to go.
POCO F8 Pro (or Ultra)
Next up, we have POCO F8 Pro in the works. A member of the F-series, POCO is launching the F8 Pro (or it could be referred to as F8 Ultra) with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 under the hood. The phone picks up a 2K OLED panel, a monstrous 7,100mAh battery under the hood, paired with a stereo sound system and a few things here and there.
Based on the Xiaomi Redmi K90 in China, the POCO F8 Pro (or Ultra) will have model numbers 2510DRK44G and 2510DRK441 for global and Indian variants. Its specs sheet includes a triple rear camera setup housing a 50MP primary, ultra-wide, and a periscope shooter, while the front is 50MP as well. Other specs, as per tipster GadgetsData include 100W wired charging, ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, and an IP69 rating.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Launch Date: February 2026
No surprises here. We will get to see the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy-powered Galaxy S26 Ultra in early 2026 as it launches with a bunch of upgrades. Speculations suggest Galaxy S26 Ultra will bring a 6.85” OLED QHD+ panel with 144Hz refresh rate. In fact, Samsung will be using the latest M14 material for its display that brings better brightness, energy efficiency and improved durability.
According to Ice Universe on X, Galaxy S26 Ultra will see the charging cap of 60W and not 45W as that of S25 Ultra. We came across leaked Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra renders showing how the phone would look like with their curved edges.
The device brings a 6.9” panel, 200MP primary cam with 50MP periscope shooter, up to 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM. There’s also an Exynos 2600 SoC variant of the device, although it remains to be seen if Samsung inclines towards either one or goes for a dual chipset strategy.
Honor Magic 8
Honor Magic 8, powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, is in the works. Sporting razor-thin bezels and a metal frame, Magic 8 is likely to be announced with an IP68 rating, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, and a screen size between 6.58 and 6.9”. Honor Magic 8 is speculated to bring deep AI features, including a dedicated AI button and YoYo assistant.
The device was recently spotted on AnTuTu v11 with a total score of 4,166,339 points. There’s a 200MP periscope telephoto lens on-board with a 85mm equivalent lens. Live images of the Honor Magic 8 were recently, showing a Sky Blue Glaze edition with a glass back and a unique pattern that shows up when light falls on it.
Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro Series
Nubia never misses its chance to shine with the latest flagship chipset in the business. Turns out Nubia is readying the Red Magic 11 Pro series powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, and not to our surprise. The phone will launch among the first wave of devices sporting the flagship silicon. Set to debut in October. The Red Magic 11 Pro series is said to bring considerable upgrades. In fact, the company calls it “the strongest Red Magic phone in history” thanks to the top-level hardware, game optimization, and breakthrough performance.
Its specs sheet includes a larger capacity battery of up to 8,000mAh, fast charging technology, IP68 water and dustproof, active cooling technology, etc.
Vivo X300 Ultra
Vivo is teasing its flagship X300 series as well. Here, the top-of-the-line Vivo X300 Ultra is speculated to pack in the Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 SoC under the hood. Touted to debut on October 13 in China, the series will see a considerable upgrade over last gen. In fact, Vivo X300 Ultra could just be the first smartphone with two 200MP shooters instead of one.
The leaked design for the Vivo X300 vanilla variant shows off what we could expect from the series and how the Ultra will look.
Oppo Find X9 Ultra
Oppo is preparing for its flagship launch as well. The Oppo Find X9 series is likely to arrive soon and probably the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 SoC will take the lead. However, it’s top-of-the-line variant we are more interested in i.e. Oppo Find X9 Ultra.
Speculated to arrive in October, Find X9 Ultra will be powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 SoC although much of its information are still under wrap.
Wrapping up
With that, we conclude our take on the list of flagship phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 launching soon. Of course, the timeline is varied since Xiaomi takes on the center stage title as the first smartphone maker while OnePlus probably is battling for that title as well. Samsung will only roll out early next year, and similarly, there are a few other makers awaiting their flagship launches in that stipulated period.
