Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Samsung Electronics have expanded their collaboration to integrate Snapdragon platforms across a wide range of new Galaxy ecosystem devices, including foldable smartphones, smartwatches, and intelligent eyewear. Announced at Samsung Unpacked in July 2026, the partnership focuses on enabling more natural, context-aware AI experiences through close engineering optimization for various form factors, according to company officials.
Next-Generation Foldables and Mobile Performance
The latest foldable smartphones from Samsung are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. This chipset is built on the Qualcomm Oryon CPU, which is described as the world’s fastest mobile CPU, to provide industry-leading performance and power efficiency for Galaxy AI experiences.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy powers the following models:
- Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra: Described as the most polished foldable Samsung has ever made, featuring specs similar to the Galaxy S26 Ultra and an improved hinge.
- Galaxy Z Fold8: Samsung’s first wide foldable, which includes a bigger battery and anti-reflective screen.
- Galaxy Z Flip8: This device uses the Snapdragon chip in select regions, including the U.S. and China, while other markets utilize the in-house Exynos 2600 processor.
Additionally, these new foldable devices feature Gemini Nano 4, an on-device model from Google that supports over 140 languages and provides improved multimodal understanding. These tools are designed for high-specification Android devices with at least 12 GB of RAM and a “qualified” chipset, according to Google’s Developer Blog.
Wearables and Intelligent Eyewear
The partnership extends to wearables through the Snapdragon Wear Elite Platform, which is built on a 3nm process. This chipset powers the Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2. According to Qualcomm, the platform brings advanced sensor fusion and superior connectivity to these devices, allowing them to deliver proactive, personalized health insights and guidance by understanding user context throughout the day.
Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google are also expanding their Android XR collaboration beyond headsets into intelligent eyewear. Powered by the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, this new category of devices will launch this fall. Two additional designs were unveiled at Samsung Unpacked as part of larger collections from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.
Strategic Ecosystem Integration
Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, stated that the companies are enabling a new age of AI where intelligence is built directly into personal devices. Won-joon Choi, President and COO of MX Business at Samsung Electronics, noted that the companies optimized Snapdragon platforms together to secure the performance and efficiency necessary for a consistent, premium Galaxy experience across smartphones, watches, and eyewear.
The breadth of the Snapdragon integration across the Galaxy ecosystem is further highlighted by other product lines:
- Laptops: Certain Galaxy Book laptops, such as the Galaxy Book 4 Edge and Galaxy Book 6 Edge, utilize Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series chips.
- Midrange Phones: Devices such as the Galaxy M47 and Galaxy A27 also use Snapdragon chips.
- Mixed Reality: Samsung’s first mixed-reality headset, launched a few months prior to Unpacked, exclusively uses the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset.
The relationship also extends to hardware components, as Qualcomm utilizes FC-BGA substrates from Samsung Electro-Mechanics in its server-grade AI chips. Amon highlighted that the two companies have worked together for nearly 30 years to define mobile experiences.
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