LG G6 could be stuck with the Snapdragon 821 because of Samsung

Rumors have been circling around the upcoming LG G6 like sharks. Just days after an alleged press image leak, sources close to Forbes are now claiming that Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 SoC flagship will not be able to make it onto the G6 and that the LG smartphone must instead rely on the older Snapdragon 821. Interestingly, the source points to an exclusivity deal between Samsung and Qualcomm as the primary reason rather than manufacturing or supply issues.

According to the source, the supposed agreement between the South Korean conglomerate and the American-based chipmaker will prevent competing manufacturers from using the Snapdragon 835 until after April 14th. The Galaxy S8 is expected to launch worldwide sometime before or during April as a result and this may also explain why the upcoming high-end HTC U Ultra is launching with the older Snapdragon 821 SoC as well.

Qualcomm, whose new 10 nm processor will be produced in Samsung factories, has been under scrutiny by authorities over its business practices and is even currently tied in a legal battle with Apple. The chipmaker's bias towards Samsung could give the company access to Samsung's larger pool of resources against opponents in court.

The potential absence of a Snapdragon 835 SoC in the LG G6 will not only cost the smartphone a performance advantage but also new features like Bluetooth 5.0 and Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) 3.0.

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