It’s pretty much a given that later this year, Qualcomm will unveil its next-gen flagship chipset. However, Qualcomm could be going with a slightly different strategy for 2026. Instead of launching just one flagship model, the company could split it. This means that we can expect the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and a Pro model, and the latest leaks have revealed that the Pro model could feature LPDDR6 RAM. Which would be a major upgrade for Android phones.
Only for Ultra models
According to tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Qualcomm is working on two chips identified as SM8975 and SM8950. The SM8975 is believed to be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro with LPDDR6 support, UFS 5.0 storage, a fully unlocked GPU, and a complete cache setup. The SM8950, or the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, will reportedly max out at LPDDR5 support.Â
Both chips are expected to use TSMC’s 2nm N2P process, which is a notable step up from the 3nm tech in the current generation. Clock speeds on the Pro model could land anywhere between 5GHz and 6GHz, according to earlier leaks. That’s a big jump from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s 4.6GHz.
That being said, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro with LPDDR6 isn’t meant for every flagship. According to the rumors, it’s being designed for Ultra-branded devices from companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 will handle the rest of the flagship phones.
What’s interesting is that the Pro chip won’t lock manufacturers into using LPDDR6. According to the leaks, it’ll also support LPDDR5X and LPDDR5 RAM. That gives phone makers a choice, and many of them will probably take the cheaper route. Xiaomi is reportedly already testing the SM8975, but the company’s final products might not even ship with LPDDR6 at all.
LPDDR6 RAM is great on paper, but in reality…
Obviously, having newer and faster memory is great, but reality is a different story. For starters, let’s talk about costs. LPDDR6 RAM is expected to cost around 20% more than LPDDR5X. It’ll also only be available in 16GB configurations at first. That increase alone might make some phone makers hesitant, but let’s not forget we’re in a memory crisis right now.
Memory prices have been climbing fast thanks to AI data centers eating up supply. A brand new RAM standard won’t exactly help prices down. Qualcomm’s shift to TSMC’s 2nm process is driving costs up on the chip side, too. The current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is already estimated at around $280 per unit, so there’s a good chance the Pro variant will cost more. Pair an expensive chip with expensive RAM, and you’ve got a recipe for phones that cost more than ever.
The post The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro brings LPDDR6 to Android, and it won’t come cheap appeared first on Android Headlines.
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