With the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series, Qualcomm is now selling four versions of its 2026 flagship chip. The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the cheaper 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series share almost everything, from the CPU to the modem and the only gap is in the GPU. If you are deciding between two phones running these chips or you just want to know the difference between the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the V Series, here is how they compare.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series vs 8 Elite Gen 5: Oryon CPU
Starting with the CPU, both chips run the exact same Oryon v3 cores. You get Qualcomm's 3rd-gen custom Oryon cores in a 2+6 layout, which means two prime cores and six performance cores fabricated on the same TSMC's 3nm process node.
The clock speeds also line up pretty well. The prime cores are clocked up to 4.6GHz and the performance cores are clocked up to 3.62GHz on both the Snapdrago 8 Elite Gen 5 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series. There is simply no CPU difference between the two processors.
There is another variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that goes up to 4.74GHz, but that belongs to the "for Galaxy" edition (SM8850-1-AD). Qualcomm reserves that for phones like the Galaxy S26 series and it sits above the regular 8 Elite Gen 5 and the V Series.
So, besides the special edition, both chips in this comparison are the same on the CPU front, offering the same cores, the same clock speeds and the same performance. You can go through our Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 benchmarks to check its performance on Geekbench.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series vs 8 Elite Gen 5: Adreno GPU
The GPU is the only reason these two chips are not the same. Both use the Adreno 840 GPU clocked at 1.2GHz, but Qualcomm has configured them differently.
The Adreno 840 uses a sliced design, which simply means its graphics power is divided into separate and independent sections. The standard 8 Elite Gen 5 runs three of these slices but the V Series runs only two. With a GPU slice gone, the GPU's peak throughput is reduced.
In addition, both chips pack Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM), the fast on-chip GPU memory that significantly improved Snapdragon 8 Elite's performance. The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 gets 18MB of HPM while the V Series comes with 12MB of high-bandwidth GPU memory.
A smaller cache means the GPU has to access system RAM more often, which reduces both speed and efficiency.
So how much does this add up to? Xiaomi puts both chips side by side and found that the standard 8 Elite Gen 5 scores around 10% higher than the V Series on AnTuTu. Since the CPUs are identical, the gap is mostly because of the slight downgrade in GPU.
I would say a 10% dip in peak graphics performance is reasonable and doesn't affect the overall performance of the GPU. In fact, for sustained gaming performance, the V Series GPU might do better during long gaming sessions.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series vs 8 Elite Gen 5: The Differences
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (SM8850-AC) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 For Galaxy (SM8850-1-AD) | 7-Core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (SM8850-5-AC) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series (SM8850-1-AB) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU cores | 8 (2 Prime + 6 Perf) | 8 (2 Prime + 6 Perf) | 7 (2 Prime + 5 Perf) | 8 (2 Prime + 6 Perf) |
| Prime core clock | 4.6GHz | 4.74GHz | 4.6GHz | 4.6GHz |
| Performance core clock | 3.62GHz | 3.62GHz | 3.62GHz | 3.62GHz |
| GPU slices | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| GPU clock speed | 1.2GHz | 1.3GHz | 1.2GHz | 1.2GHz |
| Adreno HPM (cache) | 18MB | 18MB | 18MB | 12MB |
As you can see, the main takeaway is that Qualcomm is only touching a few levers and leaving the rest of the specs intact. The "for Galaxy" chip pushes the CPU and GPU clocks up by 100MHz, the 7-core variant reduces one performance core and the V Series drops a GPU slice and a part of HPM cache.
Beyond that, all four share the specs, including the Snapdragon X85 5G modem, Hexagon NPU, triple 20-bit Spectra ISP, LPDDR5X memory, UFS 4.1 storage and Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and UWB connectivity. So compared to the standard chip, the V Series is simply the 8 Elite Gen 5 with a slightly smaller GPU.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series vs 8 Elite Gen 5: Specs Comparison
| Specification | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (SM8850-AC) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series (SM8850-1-AB) |
|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 3nm (TSMC N3P) | 3nm (TSMC N3P) |
| CPU | 3rd-gen custom Qualcomm Oryon (64-bit, octa-core) | 3rd-gen custom Qualcomm Oryon (64-bit, octa-core) |
| CPU Cores | 2x Prime Oryon up to 4.6GHz + 6x Performance Oryon up to 3.62GHz | 2x Prime Oryon up to 4.6GHz + 6x Performance Oryon up to 3.62GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 840 (3 slices) at 1.2GHz | Adreno 840 (2 slices) at 1.2GHz |
| GPU Cache (Adreno HPM) | 18MB | 12MB |
| NPU | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU | Qualcomm Hexagon NPU |
| ISP | Qualcomm Spectra, triple 20-bit AI ISPs | Qualcomm Spectra, triple 20-bit AI ISPs |
| Memory | LPDDR5X up to 5300MHz | LPDDR5X up to 5300MHz |
| Storage | UFS 4.1 | UFS 4.1 |
| Modem | Snapdragon X85 5G, up to 12.5Gbps down / 3.7Gbps up | Snapdragon X85 5G, up to 12.5Gbps down / 3.7Gbps up |
| Connectivity | FastConnect 7900 (Wi-Fi 7), Bluetooth 6.0, UWB | FastConnect 7900 (Wi-Fi 7), Bluetooth 6.0, UWB |
For almost everyone, the honest answer is that it does not matter much. The V Series keeps everything and only concedes ground in GPU performance, that too by a slight margin.
If you are a serious gamer and run the most demanding titles, the standard 8 Elite Gen 5's extra slice and larger cache could be helpful. For everyone else, a phone on the V Series will feel like a flagship phone because on the CPU and feature side, both are the same.
Amid the ongoing memory crisis and crazy phone price hikes, if you get a phone with the 8 Elite Gen 5 V series chip at a lower price, go ahead and pick it without any second thoughts.
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