The Kaipher Editorial Team 
Xiaomi has confirmed that its upcoming Xiaomi 17 series will be among the first smartphones to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, as the company skips the 16 series to align with Apple’s iPhone 17 naming convention (Android Authority). Samsung is also expected to use a customized “for Galaxy” variant of the same chip in its Galaxy S26 lineup, setting the stage for a direct showdown with Apple’s next iPhones.
Xiaomi Skips a Generation for Maximum Impact
Announcing the change on Weibo, Xiaomi president Lu Weibing revealed that the Xiaomi 17 series—comprising the Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max—will launch later this month in China. The base model offers a “most significant leap forward” over its predecessor, while maintaining the Xiaomi 15’s starting price of CNY 4,499 (approximately $630) (GSMArena). The 17 Pro is billed as a “compact imaging flagship,” and the Pro Max as “Xiaomi’s most powerful industry flagship,” both leveraging the new Snapdragon platform.
Samsung’s Specialized Chip Variant for Galaxy S26
Samsung will reportedly brand its enhanced chip as Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, increasing prime-core clock speeds to around 4.7 GHz versus the standard 4.6 GHz. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to adopt this variant globally, while Galaxy S26 Pro and S26 Edge models may still use Samsung’s Exynos 2600 in certain regions (Beebom).
Qualcomm’s Naming Strategy and Chip Specifications
Qualcomm confirmed the “Gen 5” suffix at its Snapdragon Summit announcement, marking the fifth generation of its flagship 8-series since 2021. Built on TSMC’s 3 nm N3P process, the chip features custom Oryon CPU cores promising up to 20 percent better single- and multi-core performance. Early leaks indicate AnTuTu scores of 4.2–4.4 million points and Geekbench results of 3,393 single-core and 11,515 multi-core (findarticles).
Qualcomm will reveal full specifications at the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii, from September 23–25, 2025, officially detailing the chipset that will power the next wave of Android flagships from Xiaomi, Samsung, and other OEMs.
