On July 22, 2026 at Samsung Unpacked, Qualcomm Technologies announced that Snapdragon platforms will power Samsung’s newest Galaxy devices across smartphones, watches, and intelligent eyewear, expanding what Qualcomm calls a long-standing partnership.
According to Qualcomm’s announcement, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, Snapdragon Wear Elite Platform, and Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 will ship in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, Galaxy Z Flip8, Galaxy Watch9, Galaxy Watch Ultra2, and new Intelligent Eyewear. Qualcomm framed the move as strengthening the long-standing partnership so Snapdragon can support agentic, context-aware AI experiences across the Galaxy ecosystem.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy is the silicon centerpiece for the foldable phones. Qualcomm says the platform delivers industry-leading performance and power efficiency through what it calls the world’s fastest mobile CPU, built on the Qualcomm Oryon CPU, plus an advanced GPU and next-generation NPU meant to enable more adaptive Galaxy AI experiences across mobile form factors.
Snapdragon Wear Elite marks Samsung’s first smartwatch platform powered by Snapdragon. Previously announced at Mobile World Congress, the wear chip brings advanced sensor fusion, high performance, and connectivity to the Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2 so the watches can track user context through the day and deliver more proactive, personalized health insights and guidance.
Qualcomm describes the platform as purpose-built for Personal AI.
Intelligent eyewear rounds out the expanded footprint. The Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 will power Samsung’s new intelligent eyewear, scheduled for release this fall.
At Unpacked, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker unveiled additional designs as part of larger collections coming this fall, all built on Snapdragon for more contextual experiences. Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon said the company will expand the use of its application processors in more Samsung mobile products.
