In late 2021, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 smartphone processor, the successor to the Snapdragon 888 chip found in many top smartphones throughout 2021. The chip is notable not only for its immense power and new nomenclature, but also for what it means to the future of smartphone photography.
We’re pretty excited about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and expect you are, too, so when will we get the chance to try one out in a new phone? Unsurprisingly, manufacturers are keen to let us know about upcoming phones with the processor inside, and several companies have already announced devices that use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but surprisingly, Samsung continues to maintain silence over its plans with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip.
This article is a frequently updated brand-wise list of all the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered smartphones we currently know of.
OnePlus
Right after Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, OnePlus founder Pete Lau confirmed that the company would use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor in future smartphones. He shared the news on his official Weibo social media page. Even though he did not name the devices, it was evident he was talking about the OnePlus 10 series.
On January 10, following a series of staggered leaks, OnePlus finally launched the OnePlus 10 Pro in China — and just as promised, the phone gets the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. OnePlus is yet to reveal details of the rest of the OnePlus 10 lineup, but we expect even the lower-priced OnePlus 10 to get the same processor as the Pro variant.
Oppo
Oppo quickly announced that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 would be used in a new flagship smartphone coming during the first three months of 2022. The company has not revealed the name of the new phone, but the device may replace the Find X3 Pro in Oppo’s range, as it was released at the beginning of March 2021.
Oppo did release an interesting smartphone before that — its first foldable phone — the Oppo Find N. However, this phone gets the older Snapdragon 888 chip and not the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip.
Realme
Soon after the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 arrived, Realme announced its intentions to launch a flagship-grade product as part of its GT range. The device, called the Realme GT 2, was described as its “most premium flagship phone” by Realme’s founder and CEO, Sky Li, on Twitter.
Making its World debut in Mainland China, the #realmeGT2Pro is finally here with its mind blowing features!
Which features are you looking forward to seeing and experiencing? pic.twitter.com/3KctOw2fVa
— realme (@realmeIndia) January 4, 2022
On January 4, Realme finally announced the GT 2 Pro in China and promised that the phone would eventually make it to other markets — including Europe and India. And as promised, the phone does get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip from Qualcomm.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi was among the first companies to announce its intentions to launch Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-toting phones. The company’s chief, Lei Jun, had made his intentions clear right after the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip was announced.
.@Qualcomm has always been one of the most important partners of Xiaomi. Today I'm proud to announce that after months of joint effort between Xiaomi and Qualcomm, Xiaomi 12 Series will be the world's first smartphones powered by the new @Snapdragon 8 5G Gen 1 mobile platform. pic.twitter.com/U7l3BytRce
— Lei Jun (@leijun) December 1, 2021
Even though Motorola beat them to it, Xiaomi did launch two smartphones that use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor on December 28, 2021. The two devices are part of the Xiaomi 12 series, which currently includes the Xiaomi 12 and the Xiaomi 12 Pro. Interestingly, the 12 Series is the first flagship device from Xiaomi not to use the Mi branding, which has been present for 11 generations of high-end phones from the company. As of now, the Xiaomi 12 series is yet to make its way out of China, but it could eventually make its way to Europe.
Motorola
Motorola beat Xiaomi (everyone, in fact) to launch the world’s first Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 smartphone when it announced the Moto Edge X30 in China on December 10, 2021. The phone went on sale in China starting December 15, 2021, and is expected to see a wider global rollout in the first quarter of 2022. Later in the year, Motorola will also likely introduce a successor to its now-dated foldable phone — the Moto Razr. Indications are, this time around, the Moto Razr could get a full-fledged flagship-grade chip — which is exactly what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 happens to be.
iQOO
iQOO may not be familiar to most people outside of Asia. What you need to know is that iQOO is a sub-brand owned by Vivo and has a reasonably wide range of smartphone models on sale in markets like India and China. The company recently launched two smartphones that get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. These devices include the iQOO 9 and the iQOO 9 Pro. These devices are expected to be launched in India too very soon. Chances of a wider global launch, however, look slim.
Many others to come, but what about Samsung?
Qualcomm has listed Sony, Vivo, ZTE, Sharp, Redmi, Nubia, Honor, and Black Shark in addition to the companies mentioned above as partners, and states that devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will arrive from several of them by the end of 2021.
However, perhaps the biggest surprise is the absence of Samsung’s name, despite it being a longtime Qualcomm partner, and one of the first to launch smartphones with the Snapdragon 888 chip. The plan for the Galaxy S22’s processor remains unknown at this time. However, with uncertainty about the fate of Samsung’s Exynos 2200 processor, chances are high we will see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-toting Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup be announced in the next few weeks!
