Qualcomm has officially unveiled its next-generation flagship mobile chipsets. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 are built on a 2nm process. Both platforms use Qualcomm’s 64-bit Oryon CPU architecture. They are paired with new Adreno GPUs and Hexagon NPUs for graphics and AI workloads.
The two chipsets feature two Prime cores with speeds of up to 5.0GHz. They also include six Performance cores that can reach up to 4.0GHz. Qualcomm has equipped both platforms with 16MB of Oryon FlexCache. They support up to 24GB of LPDDR5X/6 RAM at speeds of up to 5,300MHz. UFS 5.0 storage is also supported.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 brings notable performance gains over the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Qualcomm claims a 13% increase in CPU performance and 37% better CPU power efficiency. The Extreme model also delivers 44% higher GPU performance. Its NPU performance has improved by 35%. AI performance per watt is also up by 33%.
Qualcomm’s specifications show another upgrade for the Extreme model. Its Hexagon NPU has 50 percent more shared memory than the previous generation. The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 also brings several performance improvements. It offers a 10% CPU performance gain and 37% better CPU power efficiency.
GPU performance is 35% higher on the standard model. NPU performance has improved by 14%. AI performance per watt is also 20% higher. Video recording gets a major upgrade across both new platforms. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 can record 8K video at 60fps.
It also supports 4K slow-motion recording at 240fps. Meanwhile, the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 supports 8K recording at 30fps. The standard model also supports 4K slow motion at 120fps. These upgrades should give flagship phones more room for advanced video features.
Xiaomi will be the first company to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. The Xiaomi 18 Pro lineup is scheduled to launch later today. Motorola has also confirmed its upcoming Signature 27 will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 SoC. OnePlus has confirmed the OnePlus 16 will use the Extreme version.
Qualcomm’s new chips will therefore reach several flagship phones soon. Their performance and efficiency gains will also shape the next wave of Android devices.
