Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Here are all the confirmed Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones, but where’s Samsung?

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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor..
Andrew Martonik / Digital Trends

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

— leijun (@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!

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 and 4 Gen 1 chips are big deals for cheap phones
qualcomm snapdragon 6 gen 1 4 news new chips

Following in the footsteps of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm has today introduced two low-end mobile processors that add the “Gen” naming mantra to the Snapdragon 400 and 600 series. Alongside a few notable upgrades in the camera and connectivity departments, Qualcomm's latest chips have a lot going for them.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
First in line is the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, which takes over the mid-tier reins from the Snapdragon 695. Interestingly, this chip is based on the 4nm fabrication process, making it one of the first non-flagship mobile processors to rely on the 4nm die that offers better performance and higher energy efficiency. In comparison, Apple’s A15 Bionic inside the iPhone 13 series is based on TSMC’s 5nm process.

Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is the first chip in the series to bring computational HDR video capture chops to the table. It’s also the first in the family to get the new 7th Gen AI engine that brings a 3x performance uptake for AI and ML-based tasks. Motorola is among the first brands to embrace the new Qualcomm chip, while phones powered by it will hit the shelves early next year.

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship chip is coming this November
1290537 autosave v1 2 qualcomm snapdragon 845

Qualcomm has announced the dates for the Snapdragon Summit 2022. As rumored, the event will take place earlier than its usual timeline in November. It will run from November 15 to November 17. At the Summit, Qualcomm will showcase its latest and greatest innovations for the year ahead, along with its flagship chipset. Last year, it was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset that made headlines with the new naming scheme. As such, it's likely that Qualcomm will follow the line to name the next processor as Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

The tech giant revealed the information on its official website with a brief clip. The video proclaims that its viewers should get ready for the next wave of tech at Qualcomm’s biggest showcase of the year. COVID-19 didn’t allow for in-person events in 2020, but just like last year, the Snapdragon Summit is returning to Hawaii for 2022. While we don’t have the lineup of the products expected at the event, it’s certain that we will see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip might actually save Android smartwatches
The Mobvoi TicWatch 3 Pro on someone's wrist.

Qualcomm has a new wearable chip for smartwatches. Actually, there are two of them. They're the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and W5+ Gen 1, and Qualcomm thinks they're the next big revolution in smartwatch chipsets.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 from 2018 was also supposed to supercharge Wear OS watches and take them to the next level. But beyond some fairly modest battery improvements, performance on the Wear 3100 left a lot to be desired. And 2020's Wear 4100 and Wear 4100+ chips weren't much better. Qualcomm again made some battery improvements and performance gains, but seldom few smartwatches actually adopted the 4100 platform. A handful of watches from Mobvoi and Fossil use a 4100-series chip, and that's about it. Samsung's Galaxy Watch lineup is using Exynos chips, and rumors even suggest Google's Pixel Watch will do the same.

Read more