New flagship phones are expected to launch soon, starting with Apple introducing the iPhone 17 series on Sept. 9, followed by the Xiaomi 16 series towards the end of the month. A slew of new flagship phones from brands such as Vivo, Oppo, Honor, iQOO, Realme, OnePlus, and Redmi are also anticipated in October. Alongside the flagship war, this period will also mark the battle of new chipsets that will power these phones.
Chipset war to begin soon
According to reliable tipster Digital Chat Station, the smartphone industry is heading into a major “chip war” before the big wave of flagship phone launches. Apple is leading with the A19 and A19 Pro, followed by MediaTek with the Dimensity 9500, and then vwith two Snapdragon 8 series platforms, the SM8850 and SM8845. These Qualcomm chips are likely to hit the market with respective names such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (aka. Snapdragon 8 Elite 2) and Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
All of these are based on TSMC’s N3P process and are positioned as powerful “performance beasts.” The tipster also mentions that Apple and Qualcomm have already shifted to a dual-chip strategy. With chipset makers expected to adopt the 2nm process next year, which will bring higher costs, it remains to be seen whether MediaTek will also follow a dual-chip strategy.
As per reports, the cost of TSMC’s 2nm wafers is estimated at around $30,000 per wafer, higher than the price of 3nm wafers. This surge in cost is expected to affect the pricing of Android flagship phones in 2026.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 to power next-generation foldable phones
DCS said that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is currently being tested by manufacturers such as Honor, Oppo, and Vivo, and he plans to share his own hands-on results soon. He added that some brands are considering using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 for foldable phones.
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