Qualcomm’s next flagship chip lineup could be more fragmented than previously expected. A new leak details key specifications of the rumored Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series and reiterates that the company may launch both a standard and Pro variant this year. The two chips are expected to give smartphone makers more flexibility across all price ranges while widening the performance gap between regular flagship phones and premium “Ultra” models.
How is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 Pro different from the standard variant?
Several reports have already pointed to Qualcomm’s dual-chip strategy, and tipster Digital Chat Station has now revealed more details about the two variants. Both Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series chips are expected to be based on TSMC’s 2nm process and use a 2+3+3 CPU configuration, indicating a common architectural foundation. However, the “Pro” variant may offer significantly better performance if the latest leak is true.
According to Digital Chat Station, Qualcomm may equip the Pro model, codenamed SM8975, with an Adreno 850 GPU paired with 18MB GMEM, while the standard model, codenamed SM8950, is expected to feature an Adreno 845 GPU with 12MB GMEM. This could allow the high-end chip to deliver better performance and efficiency in graphics-intensive tasks like gaming.
The two chips are expected to differ in terms of memory support. The Pro variant could support both LPDDR6 and LPDDR5X RAM, while the standard model might be limited to LPDDR5X.
If true, these differences suggest Qualcomm is taking a more segmented approach to its flagship chips this year. Since Digital Chat Station has previously claimed that the Pro variant could be significantly more expensive, the split could also drive up the prices of ultra-tier smartphones. It could also widen the performance gap between flagship Android phones, even within the same chip family, since brands typically reserve the most powerful hardware for their top-of-the-line models.
