Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series chips for flagship smartphones have been the subject of multiple headlines months ahead of the launch. The chip giant plans to take a different approach this year by launching two variants of the SoC, including a Pro model. Industry analysts expect most flagship phones to use these chips. However, a report suggests that Xiaomi may not utilize the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro in its base or vanilla flagship phones.
Xiaomi could reserve the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro for the 2026 Ultra flagship
Digital Chat Station, a reliable tipster on Weibo, claims that Xiaomi will launch its base, Pro, and Pro Max flagship phone variants in September. Qualcomm’s most high-end chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, will power none of these devices. MediaTek’s latest 9600 flagship processor could power some of these models.
However, Xiaomi could offer the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset only in one of its premium smartphones: the Xiaomi 18 Ultra. Meanwhile, the brand could use the standard Elite Gen 6 on the Xiaomi 18, Xiaomi 18 Pro, and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max.
What’s the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro?
If reports are true, the Elite Gen 6 Pro chip is shaping up to be an ultra-premium processor. It could have a fully unlocked GPU and clock speeds up to 6GHz. Industry insiders say the chip will feature LPDDR6 RAM, a major upgrade for Android smartphones. There could also be support for ultra-high UFS 5.0 storage.
Qualcomm is reportedly building the new flagship chips with TSMC’s 2nm N2P process. It is a noticeable upgrade from the 3nm tech in the current generation. It’s worth mentioning that these are early rumors, and many things could change in the commercial chips.
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