Qualcomm Outs Cut-Down Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series

Qualcomm has officially introduced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series processor (model index SM8850-1-AB). Despite the bold naming, technical documentation confirms it is a cut-down version of the standard flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. The manufacturer decided to reduce graphical power while keeping the CPU, NPU, and modem performance unchanged.

The primary difference in the V Series lies in the number of compute units within the Adreno 840 GPU. While the full-fat Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and its “for Galaxy” version use a 3-slice architecture (GPU clocked at 1.2 GHz and 1.3 GHz respectively), the V Series is limited to two slices running at 1.2 GHz.

GPU Comparison: Key Differences

To understand the shift in the chip’s graphical potential, one can compare it with its counterparts within the lineup:

This positions the V Series on par with the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 in terms of GPU scalability, yet it outperforms the latter in Adreno HPM (High Performance Memory) cache capacity. The V Series boasts 12 MB of cache, compared to just 2 MB in the base 8 Gen 5.

The first model to officially feature this processor is the Redmi K100 Pro. Xiaomi confirmed its release, scheduled in China for August 11, alongside the Redmi K100 Pro Max. It is worth noting that this is Qualcomm’s first time categorizing chips with “pruned” graphics, where CPU and NPU power align with flagship standards while the GPU subsystem targets the sub-flagship segment.