Andy Walker / Android Authority
As 2025 approaches its final quarter, we now have a solid view of what the flagship mobile chipset space will look like for the next twelve months. Apple has its new Apple A19 Pro, Google has its Tensor G5, MediaTek is lining up the Dimensity 9500, and Qualcomm has just unveiled its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. All are fast enough for daily use, but as we know, some of these chips prioritize outright performance a bit more than others.
Now I’m a tech head, I love nothing better than getting to grips with all the ultra-low-level bits and pieces that go into making brilliant displays, cameras, and processors. If the phone I end up buying has all this kit inside, then all the better.
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But I’m also realistic when it comes to picking the product I want to use every day. Of course, having a phone chip that rivals a light laptop is brilliant, but we’re well past the point where it is the most important factor in deciding whether a phone is a joy to use (outside of pure gaming, at least). For me, I’m busy chasing around two toddlers, so having a brilliant camera is high on my priorities list. I’m also notoriously forgetful about overnight charging, so I need a phone that can top up quickly and run for more than a day on a full charge.
Snapdragon is great, but 2025 has amazing phones with other chips too.
Of course, you can find Snapdragon Elite-powered flagships that tout all of these qualities — such as the mighty OnePlus 13. But there is an increasingly solid selection of powerhouse flagships that fit the bill with a different chip at the helm. Outside of reviews, I haven’t daily-driven a Snapdragon Elite phone this year — and I don’t think I’ve missed anything.
Qualcomm makes incredible silicon, but it isn’t the only game in town
Before Pixel fans think about chalking up another convert, the Pixel 10 Pro XL currently sits on my desk, but I’m not inclined to pick it up. Although there are great reasons to pick Snapdragon over Tensor, I don’t think Google has quite nailed the right balance of performance, battery life, and other features for me. Honestly, I can leave all the Gemini nonsense behind. Instead, I’ve been using the OPPO Find X8 Pro, powered by the last-generation MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chip.
I don’t want to harp on about performance here because I’m quite aware that it’s just not the top priority for a growing majority of smartphone owners. It’s sufficient to say that it’s not far off the Elite in benchmarks, and even harder to tell the difference day to day.
Instead, battery life, cameras, and style are increasingly the big draws when picking out my next phone. Thankfully, those crucial bits are very well catered to on this phone. The cameras are brilliant, battery life is taking me through more than a day even with an 85% longevity cap, and I’ve had a steady stream of updates to patch in a few new features and security upgrades. This phone feels every bit as premium as handsets sporting different processors.
It’s definitely not the case of being a second-class citizen if you don’t pick the benchmark topper. We’ve shared similar sentiments about the Dimensity-powered vivo x200 Pro and the Samsung Exynos-equipped Galaxy S24 FE. Both are great for their own reasons, and both use very different chips to accomplish those goals.
Chips that scale within budgets and needs
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
I don’t know what processor will be in my next phone; it seems to matter less and less with each passing year, making it far easier to be chip-agnostic. But I do have my eye on the price tag, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to justify $1,000 phones, and even $799 models, that don’t nail those fundamentals I outlined earlier.
With that in mind, I’m eagerly watching what Qualcomm’s slightly more affordable Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (not to be confused with the Elite version) will offer. While we still don’t have all the details, we do know that the chip opts for a marginally more conservative CPU, GPU, and NPU setup that’ll still power flagship features. Google’s Tensor has already proven you can have top-class AI and camera smarts without topping the benchmarks.
I'm eagerly watching what Qualcomm's more affordable Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 can do.
That sounds perfectly fine to me, especially as it should work out like Apple’s A19/Pro strategy and help keep prices lower for mainstream flagships. It feels inevitable that Qualcomm will segment its high-end lineup to mirror the mainstream/top-tier split that Apple and Samsung have already embraced.
The Elite makes sense in $1,000 phones with that extra budget headroom, but I’d be equally delighted with a regular 8 Gen 5 in a $799 flagship, especially if it leaves money to spend on other hardware upgrades. I just hope vendors are open to shipping phones with both.
It’s all about finding the right balance
Qualcomm
This isn’t to say chipsets no longer matter. Whether supporting enhanced 12-bit video recording capabilities, new technologies like SOS satellite messaging, or being manufactured on the most efficient processes, cutting-edge processors are still where you’ll find the very best tech. However, these valuable tools aren’t always reserved for the most expensive in the business, and more modest chips can yield advantages for temperatures, thermal throttling, and battery life — which are all just as important.
If it's a choice between cutting features or performance, I'll choose the latter.
Price is the other side of the Elite chip double-edged sword, and consumers are pretty much tapped out as it is. We know that the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is an expensive bit of silicon, and handset prices might have to rise to cover it, or cuts will be made elsewhere. This appears to be the tightrope walk the OnePlus 15 currently finds itself on.
Spending more on a chip’s performance at the expense of better cameras, high-quality batteries, or nicer build materials isn’t a worthwhile tradeoff for me. So while I’ll continue to marvel at the latest Elite chip, it won’t be the deciding factor in my next phone purchase, though it certainly won’t put me off either. I imagine I won’t be the only one.
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