Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro launch timeline tipped with Xiaomi 18 set to miss out

According to new reports, Qualcomm will be segmenting its flagship chipsets this year in response to rising component costs. Specifically, multiple Chinese leakers now claim that Qualcomm is preparing to introduce two variants of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 platform later this year to supersede devices like the Poco F8 Ultra and OnePlus 15 (curr. $899.99 on Amazon).

Writing on Weibo, Digital Chat Station asserts that Qualcomm will be announcing new flagship chipsets during September, just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in September 2025. Unlike last year, Qualcomm is tipped to deliver two 'Elite' branded chipsets, with the SM8950 and SM8975 reportedly in development as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, respectively.

Moreover, the leaker claims that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro will be the only one of the two with LPDDR6 RAM, 'maxed-out cache' and a 'full-power GPU'. Also, they expect Xiaomi 18 smartphones to showcase both the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Currently, Digital Chat Station anticipates that the standard Xiaomi 18 will be the only model that leverages the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, though.