After months of rumors, Qualcomm's next-generation flagship processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, recently appeared unexpectedly on Geekbench, more than a month ahead of its original release date of late September. Test data shows that this "For Galaxy" version, presumably customized for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge (codenamed SM-S947U), achieved single-core scores of 3,393 and multi-core scores of 11,515 on Geekbench 6.4, representing increases of approximately 10% and 34%, respectively, over the previous-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite. However, industry insiders point out that these results undermine its full potential—the CPU frequency remained stable at 4.0GHz during testing, well below its maximum boost frequency of 4.74GHz, suggesting that the production version may offer even greater performance.
A deeper analysis of the hardware specifications reveals that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 continues its 6+2 CPU architecture, with the efficiency cores (E-cores) reaching a maximum frequency of 3.63GHz. It also adds support for the SME instruction set to enhance AI computing capabilities. The Samsung engineering device used in the test was equipped with 12GB of RAM and ran an early version of One UI 8.0 based on Android 16, suggesting the entire Galaxy S26 series may be equipped with this chip. This development directly challenges Samsung's in-house Exynos 2600, which, despite an earlier Geekbench appearance, performed mediocrely. If the final design is implemented, it may force Samsung to adjust its dual-chip strategy.
Notably, the leaked benchmarks also reflect the subtle competition in the semiconductor industry. For consumers, the strong performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 means a more powerful mobile experience; however, for Samsung's foundry division, Qualcomm's continued lead may increase pressure on its 3nm process. With the September launch approaching, this battle between performance and production capacity may reshape the flagship phone market landscape in 2026.
