Qualcomm teases two flagship smartphone chips ahead of putative Snapdragon Summit launch

Qualcomm appears to have dropped its strongest hint yet that this year's Snapdragon 8 Elite generation will consist of more than one flagship chipset. In a new Snapdragon Summit teaser, the company briefly shows two Snapdragon 8 Elite-branded chips side by side, potentially corroborating months of leaks surrounding the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro.

The decision to prominently feature two separate Snapdragon 8 Elite packages is noteworthy given previous reports that Qualcomm intends to split its next flagship generation into Standard and Pro variants. Digital Chat Station claimed that the two chipsets carry the SM8950 and SM8975 model numbers and will be manufactured using TSMC's N2P process. Both are also rumoured to use a 2+3+3 CPU configuration, although the higher-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is expected to receive a more powerful GPU and support for LPDDR6 memory.

However, subsequent reports have further complicated the picture. Qualcomm is also rumoured to be working on a third Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6-generation chipset manufactured by Samsung Foundry using its 2 nm process. That chip is expected to carry a different model number, and if rumours from yesteryears are anything to go by, it could be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 (or Gen 6 Pro) for Galaxy: the Samsung-exclusive Snapdragon chip that could power upcoming flagships like the Galaxy S27 Ultra.

The alleged Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro has already surfaced in an unverified AnTuTu listing as well, where it reportedly delivered sizable CPU and GPU gains over current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices. AnTuTu subsequently pointed out that the result had not been uploaded to its official database, so those numbers should still be treated cautiously.Either way, we should find out more on September 22 at Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit event, where it is also expected to unveil the Snapdragon X2 Elite successors.