Qualcomm's New Chip Means You Don't Need a Flagship Phone for Cutting

Qualcomm revealed its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip in September to power the absolute top-tier Android phones coming out in 2026. The $900 OnePlus 15 launched this month and is the first phone available with the new chip in the US. Now, the company is offering a new chip -- the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 -- for handsets that need slightly less digital horsepower for lower cost, leading to cheaper but still powerful phones.

Qualcomm typically offers multiple versions of its chips at varying performance levels and prices to suit the needs of phone-makers. Even within the cream of the crop -- phones that cost $700 or more -- companies may opt for a less powerful and, presumably, a less expensive chip to power their lower-priced devices. This could include phones like the just-announced OneP