No more 5G on Snapdragon chip names, starting with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Yes, the successor to the Snapdragon 888 is likely to be called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, as the leaks had suggested. Ahead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit on November 30, Qualcomm has confirmed some ongoing rumours as well as hinted at a few developments. Qualcomm is going on a full rebranding spree for its high-end mobile chips.

Snapdragon will now be known as a standalone product brand and will seldom tag along the Qualcomm name. Hence, Snapdragon will be the prominent name going forward, with its “fireball” logo gaining more prominence than ever. The product nomenclature changes for the Snapdragon 800 series chips too.

Snapdragon is now a brand on its own

The teaser video and blog post confirm the possibility of the rumoured Snapdragon 898 launching as the Snapdragon 8 series chip, possibly called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. “A new simplified and consistent naming structure for our platforms makes it easier for our customers to discover and choose devices powered by Snapdragon. This means our mobile platforms will transition to a single-digit series and generation number, aligning with other product categories — starting with our newest flagship Snapdragon 8-series platform,” says Qualcomm.

The full rebranding move will use more simplified icons and the enhanced use of gold colour for premium tier products, says Qualcomm. Additionally, the chips will no longer carry the 5G moniker as Qualcomm will transition to 5G platforms completely.

“We've separated the Qualcomm and Snapdragon brands. Going forward, Snapdragon will be a standalone product brand with specific ties to the Qualcomm brand where appropriate,” says Qualcomm.

The first new chip under this rebranded strategy will be unveiled at the Snapdragon Summit on November 30. What remains to be seen is whether and how Qualcomm rebrands its lower tier chips. The Snapdragon 700 and Snapdragon 600 series chips spawns multiple variants with different levels of performance on offer.