The next phone you buy is probably the fastest technology in that category has ever been, and the processor is why. Tech under the hood is powering everything these days, handling camera and sound and AI capabilities when local AI becomes a thing, and depending on how much you spend, you might get the very best possible.
In 2026 over on Android, that so far has been the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a model that has seen a couple of versions, but found its way into high-end phones from Samsung and Oppo and Xiaomi and more. The hardware managed to beat Google’s latest Tensor chip from the Pixel 11 range, and the benchmarks prove it.
But that doesn’t mean the Gen 5 will stay the processor to beat, with one more on the way shortly.
Qualcomm has announced what’s coming, with new variants on the flagship Snapdragon 8, arriving in the Elite Extreme Gen 6 and the Elite Gen 6. One is clearly better than the other, and you can probably guess which it is.
Both will see high-end graphics and boosts in performance, sporting as much as 10 percent more from the previous generation, while AI support goes up, as well. That’s on-board AI for those playing along at home, even though the on-board AI apps aren’t significant in number (yet).
One of the 2 nanometre processors, the hardware will also include a 5G modem, support for fast WiFi using both Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8, and support for high-res audio using Snapdragon Sound, a technology making its way to more earphones including those from Sennheiser as of late.
The more impressive “extreme” model will have even more in the kitty, with more performance across system, graphics, and AI, support for 8K video capture at 60 frames per second and up to 240 frames per second on 4K, plus an update to audio to include spatial audio processed by AI, among other things.
Basically, it’s the Gen 6 chip, but somehow better, and largely reserved for the high-end phones you know are coming.
In terms of “what” is coming, Qualcomm noted mobiles were on the way from the likes of Honor, Motorola, Oppo, and Xiaomi, with all four available in Australia. Other phone makers including OnePlus, RedMagic, and Vivo are also on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 list, but they don’t typically have release schedules locally, at least not in stores.
As for when, that is anyone’s guess, but you can probably expect a few of these before the year’s end.
