Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is launching soon, and OnePlus gets first dibs

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is proving too hot to handle for Android flagships, but there’s another flagship chip coming in from Qualcomm for those who don’t need as much overkill. The company had shared some information about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 when it launched the 8 Elite Gen 5, and we’ve seen leaks fill in some of the details. Now, Qualcomm has officially begun teasing the launch of this chip, scheduled for the end of the month. This new chip will debut on the OnePlus Ace 6T, which in turn is likely to be rebranded as the OnePlus 15R.

Qualcomm has officially shared on Weibo that the company will release the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 on November 26 in China.

OnePlus China’s President, Mr. Li Jie Louis, has officially announced on Weibo that the OnePlus Ace 6T will be the world’s first phone to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.

OnePlus hasn’t shared a specific announcement date for the Ace 6T, but it has teased that the phone will launch in China this month. Given that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is scheduled for release on November 26, we can expect the Ace 6T to be launched on the same day or shortly after the announcement of the SoC, but before the start of December.

In separate posts (1, 2), Li Jie Louis has also shared that the OnePlus Ace 6T will feature a 165Hz refresh rate display, as well as 100W SuperVOOC fast charging.

Leaker Digital Chat Station has shared that the OnePlus Ace 6T’s colors will be similar to those of the iPhone 17: Black, Purple, and Green.

The OnePlus 15R could be a rebranded OnePlus Ace 6T

Early leaks suggested that the OnePlus Ace 6, which was launched alongside the OnePlus 15 in China, could be made available in international markets as the OnePlus 15R. However, that is unlikely to be the case, as the OnePlus 15R is likely a rebrand of this upcoming OnePlus Ace 6T.

Developer MlgmXyysd has shared with us at Android Authority that internal Color OS/Oxygen OS system files reference the OnePlus 15R and the OnePlus Ace 6T with the same codename, “macan.”

OnePlus also recently began teasing the OnePlus 15R in some regions. From the teasers, we can spot that there is a circular LED flash on the side of the camera module.

This LED shape does not match the LED on the current OnePlus Ace 6, further corroborating that the OnePlus 15R is likely not the OnePlus Ace 6:

Leaker Yogesh Brar mentions that the Global launch for the OnePlus 15R is set for the middle of December.

When exactly will the OnePlus 15R launch? For that, we have to look at the terms and conditions for OnePlus’s subscription campaign in the UK, which states that the campaign will run from “November 17, 1 PM GMT to December 17 till the launch event,” marking December 17 as the most probable date for the OnePlus 15R’s global launch.

We’ll have to wait for OnePlus to launch the OnePlus Ace 6T in China to see what’s in store for the OnePlus 15R.