Qualcomm is updating its Snapdragon branding to try and simplify its chip names

Qualcomm has announced some significant changes to the way it brands its Snapdragon chips, including a change to the three-digit number system it's been using to differentiate between its products for years. The news comes ahead of the company's expected next-gen flagship chip debut at the Snapdragon Tech Summit on November 30.

To start, Snapdragon will now exist as a standalone brand, separate from the "Qualcomm" brand (which won't appear as much on its chips). It's a direction the company started out with earlier this year (the Snapdragon 888 Plus badge, for example, notably lacks the word "Qualcomm"), but today's news reinforces plans to move forward. Is.

But the biggest change may be in how the company actually names its semiconductor products. For years, Qualcomm has labeled its chips with three-digit names, such as Snapdragon 480, Snapdragon 765, or Snapdragon 888. The first number widely informed customers of how powerful the chip was (the 8-series chips served as flagships, while the 4-series models were intended for entry-level products). The second number usually refers to the annual generation of releases (from Snapdragon 865 to 875), while changes in the third number generally show more minor updates (such as the Snapdragon 765G to the Snapdragon 768G).

The problem, however, is that Qualcomm is running out of numbers in its naming scheme, as well as a bit troubling and confusing. The 8-series lineup hit the Snapdragon 888 last year, the 7-series is already on the Snapdragon 780, and the 6-series is already on the verge with the Snapdragon 695.

However, going forward, Qualcomm says it will move on to "single-digit series and generation numbers, aligning with other product categories", with the upcoming announcement of its next 8-series flagship (which was previously expected) will begin. It can be called Snapdragon 898 based on the old pattern of Qualcomm). Qualcomm already uses a generational naming scheme for its Snapdragon PC processors, such as the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 or Snapdragon 7c Gen 2, too, so the change isn't coming from anywhere.

Unfortunately, Qualcomm isn't saying what that new branding plan will be, though the announcement is expected at next week's Snapdragon Tech Summit. Instead, the company has published a vague promotional reel that shows the number eight as too high to tease the new, top-secret naming scheme.

Apart from the as yet unknown naming scheme, Qualcomm also announced some other details regarding its Snapdragon branding scheme. Going forward, the company plans to emphasize the use of gold to represent top-tier flagship products. It's also going to stop explicitly calling it 5G on chips, given that "5G has become ubiquitous" in its product lineup and will be "a given."