Qualcomm is preparing 2 flagship mobile processors built on a cutting edge 2 nanometer node. According to details shared by industry insider Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the chips will arrive as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. The official reveal is scheduled for the annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii late next month.
Qualcomm is shaking up its naming structure by splitting its top silicon into standard and extreme editions. The baseline flagship carries internal model number SM8950 and will arrive on shelves as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. Right above it sits the SM8975, which takes on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 title. This split gives Android phone makers 2 performance levels to pick from for next year.
Moving to a 2 nanometer fabrication process is the real headline here. Packing transistors closer together gives the silicon a massive boost in efficiency. That means faster app launch speeds and longer battery runtimes for phones. Mainstream Android flagships arriving early next year will be the first devices to benefit from this new architecture.
The timing of the leak fits right into the usual product announcement cycle. With the Hawaii event happening in late September, test units are already circulating among hardware partners. More performance scores and benchmark leaks will undoubtedly pop up over the coming weeks as testing ramps up.
Both chips are slated to power upcoming devices from major players like Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Samsung. The standard 8 Elite Gen 6 should land in regular high end phones, while the Extreme edition will likely power dedicated gaming handsets and ultra high price flagships. Qualcomm will share the complete architectural breakdown when it takes the stage in Hawaii.
