Qualcomm’s 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite 3 Chip May Feature Four Large Cores

SammyGuru is reader-supported. We have affiliate and sponsored partnerships, so we may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site — at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

Samsung recently launched the Galaxy S25 series with an overclocked version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. The American chipmaker is already working on the next model, the Elite 2, which should power next year’s Galaxy S26. Leaks have revealed a thing or two about the upcoming Qualcomm processor. A fresh leak now sheds some light on the Galaxy S27’s 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite 3 chip.

Qualcomm aims a triple-cluster CPU arrangement for its 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite 3

According to X leaker @Jukanlosreve, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 3 could feature a triple-cluster CPU arrangement. The chip will still have an octa-core CPU but in a 2+2+4 cluster. The tipster mentions two super-large cores, two hybrid super-large cores, and four small cores. The Snapdragon 8 Elite has a 2+6 CPU cluster. TSMC will manufacture the Elite 3 on its 2nm N2 process.

No other information is available about Qualcomm’s third-gen Elite-branded mobile processor. The company is using its custom Oryon CPU cores in these chipsets. Oryon cores were previously exclusive to its ARM-based PC processors. The switch from Cortex-based CPU cores helped Qualcomm achieve higher speeds without compromising on power efficiency.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy powering the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra has a peak speed of 4.47GHz. As said earlier, it’s an overclocked version — the standard chip runs at 4.32GHz. It’s still a massive leap over the previous-gen solutions. And we are staring at another huge boost in CPU performance with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 expected later this year.

The same course reveals that the upcoming Qualcomm flagship could touch a CPU speed of 5GHz. Qualcomm aims for a minimum single-core Geekbench 6 score of 4,000. Its integrated CPU could feature 18 compute units. Samsung should use this chip in the Galaxy S26 phones. AT least the Galaxy S26 Ultra if not all models. Expect more details about the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 in the coming months.

Written by

Sumit Adhikari

Sumit, a life-long Samsung user, is passionate about technology and has been professionally writing on tech since 2017. He’s a mathematics graduate by education and enjoys teaching basic mathematics tricks to school kids in his spare time. Sumit believes in artificial intelligence and dreams of a fully open, intelligent and connected world.

XMore from Sumit Adhikari →