The memory crisis is putting a lot of companies in a tough spot. Memory has become pricier than ever. This means that companies need to rethink their strategy when it comes to new phones. The good news is that Qualcomm has quite an extensive chip lineup for 2026 that should accommodate that.
Qualcomm chip lineup for 2026 includes 3nm options
Every year, Qualcomm launches a new flagship chipset. That much is a given. However, for 2026, the Qualcomm chip lineup will consist of several options that could make it more affordable for companies. This is according to a post on Weibo by tipster Digital Chat Station.
According to the tipster, we can look forward to four flagship-level chipsets from Qualcomm this year. This includes the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, the Gen 6 Pro, along with a variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 6.
What’s interesting is that both the Elite Gen 6 and Gen 6 Pro models will be made on TSMC’s 2nm process. However, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 variant and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 will be built on the 3nm process. This by no means diminishes their performance, but it means that they should be priced more affordably.
It also means that flagship phones in 2027 could be more varied than 2026. This could be a good thing in terms of differentiation.
What are the differences?
According to Digital Chat Station, the Pro model is “A fully-equipped 2nm flagship chip with ample cache and peripherals, featuring new GPU technology.” Then, the regular Elite Gen 6 is “A 2nm flagship chip with a fourth-generation self-developed CPU sharing cache.”
As for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it seems that there could be two versions. One of which is the version we know now. Then, there will be a newer version with the model number SM8850Q. No details on that yet. However, for the non-Elite Gen 6, Digital Chat Station says it is “a 3nm self-developed all-large-core architecture, expected to be a minor iteration of the 8Gen5 with improved frequency and performance.”
It will be interesting to see which companies will adopt which chipset. However, we imagine some might opt for the non-Elite version, or retain the use of the Gen 5 in a bid to reduce costs. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see.
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