Qualcomm's next flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro has leaked several times over the past few months. It looks like a powerhouse processor, fabricated on a new 2nm node, and promises to deliver a huge leap over the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Ahead of the Snapdragon Summit 2026, here is everything we know about the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and what the leaked AnTuTu score reveal about the top-tier chip.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro: Architectural Changes
For the first time, Qualcomm is splitting its top-end processor into two standard and Pro editions of the chip, similar to Apple's standard and Pro chips. The SM8975 is the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, while the SM8950 is the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.
Both chipsets were revealed by reliable tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) on Weibo. Early leaks suggest the costlier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is reserved for the priciest flagships while the standard chip is meant for premium phones.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is tipped to be Qualcomm's first flagship built on TSMC's N2P process node, which is an enhanced 2nm node that replaces FinFET transistors with gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheets. For context, the current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was fabricated on the N3P 3nm node.
Now, despite moving to an advanced node, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro die area is reportedly bigger. Its die size is said to be around 134 mm², larger than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5's 126.2 mm² area.
It's being said that Qualcomm has packed new Matrix ALU blocks and widened the cache for the Adreno GPU. Basically, we are getting a beefier Snapdragon chip this year, even more powerful than the 8 Elite Gen 5.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro: CPU
It's reported that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is moving from the usual 2 + 6 layout to a 2 + 3 + 3 Oryon configuration. It may include 2x prime cores, 3x performance cores and 3x efficiency cores. We may also see the 4th-gen Oryon CPU cores debuting with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Notably, the same CPU configuration will also apply to the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.
It appears Qualcomm is trying to improve efficiency with its upcoming chip. Qualcomm can hand low-intensity tasks to efficiency cores and reserve the prime cores for heavy tasks. A separate leak from tipster Fixed Focus Digital claimed that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro's CPU performance would improve by less than 20% over the Gen 5. Qualcomm is also prioritising longevity and battery life over raw speed.
As for clock speeds, there are unconfirmed reports. Rumours of peak frequencies around 4.8 to 5.0GHz have been circulating for months and if the chip does breach 5.0GHz, it would be the first smartphone processor to do so.
For context, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 maxes out at 4.61GHz on the standard variant and 4.74GHz on the "for Galaxy" variant. If the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro does touch the 5GHz mark, it might be on a special edition like the Galaxy variant.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro: GPU
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is said to come with the Adreno 850 GPU. Early reports said there is a 50% jump in GPU bus width and memory capacity, but now, it's becoming clear that graphics memory (GMEM) is still 18MB. The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 may get Adreno 845 with 12MB of GMEM.
Now, where do the GPU gains come from? First, the GPU may get up to six slices, up from three on the 8 Elite Gen 5. It would be a huge upgrade in raw throughput. Second, and more interesting, is AI Frame Fusion, which could significantly improve upscaling and frame generation.
AI Frame Fusion is said to be powered by two dedicated Matrix ALU blocks (similar to Apple's Neural Accelerators) and it's part of the Adreno 850's shader processor. On a regular chip, the NPU and the GPU have separate access to the memory pool, so the moment you mix an AI task with rendering, data has to travel across the chip's main bus.
Now, if you integrate those Matrix ALUs into the shader block instead, having access to the GPU's own GMEM memory, the upscaling and frame generation tasks can be done on the GPU itself without leaving the fast memory lane. This will lead to real-time frame generation and upscaling.
One unit upscales a low-resolution scene into a crisper image, while the other unit creates new frames without increased power draw. The implementation sounds similar to NVIDIA's DLSS technology. The only downside is that the standard 8 Elite Gen 6 may not get the Matrix ALUs and AI Frame Fusion.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro AnTuTu Score (Leaked)
Just recently, DCS shared an early AnTuTu score of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and it scored a whopping 4,835,412 points on AnTuTu v11. The CPU received 1,368,930 points and the GPU got 1,854,826 points.
Compared to our own AnTuTu run for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 benchmark, the jump in performance looks significant. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scored 3,740,686 in our AnTuTu V11 benchmark, so the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is about 29% ahead, if we go by the leaked number.
In addition, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro's CPU is around 30% more powerful than the 8 Elite Gen 5's CPU (1,054,518 points) and its GPU is ahead by 35% than the Adreno 840 GPU (1,368,986 points).
| AnTuTu V11 Score | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro (Leaked) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 4,835,412 | 3,740,686 |
| CPU | 1,368,930 | 1,054,518 |
| GPU | 1,854,826 | 1,368,986 |
Note that it's an early leaked run so take these scores with a healthy dose of scepticism. I am expecting the retail units with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chip to get around 4.6 million points on AnTuTu.
Meanwhile, MediaTek is also said to be chasing the 5GHz clock speed. The Dimensity 9600 Pro's Geekbench score is expected to score around 4,200 to 4,300 in single-core and 12,000 to 12,500 in multi-core. It looks like the silicon war is going to intensify even more next month.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro: Memory, Cooling and Connectivity
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is rumoured to bring the first LPDDR6 memory support on any phone. Phone makers can either choose the quad-channel 24-bit LPDDR6 memory or quad-channel 16-bit LPDDR5X memory, paired with 8MB of last-level cache. The standard 8 Elite Gen 6 is limited to LPDDR5X and a smaller 6MB LLC cache.
The LPDDR6 memory can drive the peak throughput to about 14.4 Gbps, compared to LPDDR5X's 10.67 Gbps, which is around 35% faster. Apart from that, the Pro variant may get UFS 5.0 storage support with two high-bandwidth lanes. And the standard variant may get UFS 4.0 or single-lane UFS 5.0.
Qualcomm is also putting focus on improving thermals this year. Fixed Focus Digital revealed Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro's HPB cooling, which is a Heat Pass Block structure that sits directly over the chipset to spread heat into the phone's vapour chamber.
It's the same approach used by Samsung on the Exynos 2600 processor. Given how hard the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 throttles under sustained load, it's great to see Qualcomm addressing the issue.
On the modem side, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is expected to feature the new X105 5G modem. And wireless connectivity is handled by the FastConnect 8800 system, which brings Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 7.0 and UWB.
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Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro Specs (Expected)
| Specification | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro (SM8975) |
|---|---|
| Process Node | TSMC's 2nm N2P |
| CPU | 2 + 3 + 3 CPU cluster, Oryon v4 (likely) |
| CPU Cores | 2 Prime + 3 Performance + 3 Efficiency (up to 4.8–5.0GHz rumoured) |
| GPU | Adreno 850, 18 MB GMEM, 6 slices, 2 Matrix ALUs, AI Frame Fusion |
| Memory | LPDDR6 (quad-channel 24-bit) or LPDDR5X (quad-channel 16-bit) |
| Storage | UFS 5.0 (two lanes) |
| Modem | Snapdragon X105 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 7.0, UWB (FastConnect 8800) |
Last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was already a beast and it appears, the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is going to break new records. It's moving to the new 2nm N2P node, the GPU is reportedly getting double the slices with features like AI Frame Fusion and LPDDR6 memory is going to unlock new levels of mobile performance.
Based on the leaked AnTuTu score, we are already seeing up to 30 - 35% gain in both the CPU and GPU departments. And it's great to see Qualcomm focusing on improving efficiency and thermals too, which was a huge bottleneck on the 8 Elite Gen 5.
Having said all of that, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is expected to cost a lot. A bigger chip fabricated on an expensive node, first-generation LPDDR6 support, UFS 5.0 storage and a memory crisis are all coming at once. It means that the Pro chip will push Ultra flagship prices to new highs.
My advice would be to wait for the Snapdragon Summit event on September 22 before drawing conclusions. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro could ship in 6 variants and Qualcomm will allow phone makers to configure memory and clock speeds to hit different price points. Users may also get a binned or lower-clocked variant of the same chip.
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