Qualcomm has officially launched its new flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and although the first devices with the chip are expected to launch today – the Xiaomi 17 series – we may need to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S26 to get one key upgrade.
As well as various performance upgrades and the promise of better AI, the 8 Elite Gen 5 is the first platform to come with the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec.
This is important because while the iPhone has been the crème de la crème of video recording on phones for a long time, Android may take a big step to challenge that with APV, as well as crushing it in benchmarks.
The codec promises ‘professional-level video production’ along with ‘groundbreaking’ AI camera technology. Qualcomm says it can capture “near-lossless” video quality and unlocks more detailed and impressive post-production adjustments for better results.
What I wasn’t expecting was to wait many months for this tech to reach the hands of consumers.
Chris Martin / Foundry
As mentioned earlier, the Xiaomi 17 series is set to be announced as the first Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices, but it appears they might be missing APV.
During an Elite Experience Q&A, Judd Heape, VP of product management at Qualcomm, was asked when we’d see devices arrive with APV onboard and here’s what he had to say.
“I don’t know which OEM, but I expect it to be January 2026,”
This suggests that not only will Xiaomi’s new smartphones arrive without the major feature, the OnePlus 15 will, too.
The date mentioned by Heape lines up with when Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S26 series (which Samsung hinted will get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5), so based on his comment, these will be the first Android phones to arrive with the Advanced Professional Video codec.
I asked Heape in a later Q&A session why this was the case and got this response:
“With these things you have to wait and see and I can’t disclose which OEM is going to bring out APV, but it will be coming,” adding that “I think the safe bet is 2026.”
It seems pretty locked in for next year, rather than the first wave of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices, and though APV is a Samsung-developed technology, it was unclear, until now, when it would arrive on devices. The firm keeping the royalty-free codec for its own flagships seems fair enough, though.
Qualcomm paid for my travel, airfare, and meals to travel to its Snapdragon Technology Summit. The company did not ask for or exert control over Tech Advisor’s content.
