Qualcomm has officially confirmed the dates for its 2026 Snapdragon Summit. The annual event will take place from September 22 to 24 in Hawaii.
Last year, the company unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at the summit in Maui. That chip later powered devices from numerous brands.
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The successor, likely called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, is expected to be introduced this year. It may not arrive alone.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6: What to expect
Leaks suggest Qualcomm is splitting its flagship lineup into two distinct chips for the first time. They are internally codenamed SM8950 and SM8975.
Expected names are Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Both are reportedly built on TSMC's advanced 2nm process.
According to tipster Digital Chat Station, the Gen 6 will feature a 2+3+3 Oryon CPU layout with a shared 16MB L2 cache.
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It will be paired with an Adreno 845 GPU with a six-slice design, 12MB GMEM, and 6MB system-level cache.
The chip will support LPDDR5X memory and UFS 5.0 storage. The Gen 6 Pro, meanwhile, will use an Adreno 850 GPU with 18MB of dedicated GMEM.
That represents a 50% increase in GPU bus width and memory capacity compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
The Pro variant will also support LPDDR6 memory in addition to LPDDR5X.
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Clock speeds are expected to climb.
Reports indicate the Gen 6 Pro could reach a peak clock speed of 5GHz, making it the first smartphone chip to hit that mark.
To handle extra heat, the Pro variant may introduce new cooling technology.
A leaked block diagram suggests Qualcomm could adopt Heat Pass Block (HPB) technology, the same cooling method used in Samsung's Exynos 2600.
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With official dates now set, leaks and benchmark numbers are expected to increase in the coming weeks.
