Xiaomi tipped to release world's first Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 flagships

The latest list of predicted Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 early adopters is out, and there are 3 Xiaomi smartphones on it.

The new tip, courtesy of the typical leaker Digital Chat Station, might be a tacit endorsement of the idea that successors to the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro will be joined by a new Pro Max variant.

It might be more accurate to say at this stage that the "16 Pro Max" will have the same 'full' size as the 15 Pro, while the 16 Pro becomes a new, more premium version of the ~6.3-inch 16.

The Xiaomi 16, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are also tipped to be first to launch with their new silicon, which might mean they will be the only ones to do so by the end of September 2025.

The rest of their 8 Elite 2-powered group might debut soon thereafter, maybe in October 2025. They are now thought to include the Honor Magic8 and Magic8 Pro; the iQoo 15 (but not the 15 Pro); the OnePlus 15 (but not the 15T) and the Realme GT 8 Pro (but not the GT 8).

All 8 of the next-gen flagships are also believed to launch with Android 16 out of the box, although Xiaomi's version (HyperOS 3) has yet to enter public beta testing, while the ColorOS 16 skin that might be destined for the Chinese variant of the OnePlus 15 has beaten it to the punch.