Since the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 debuted in September, we’ve already seen it power some of the best Android phones heading into 2026. The chip delivers a noticeable jump in raw performance, but it’s still built on a 3nm process.
Meanwhile, Samsung is expected to challenge it directly with the Exynos 2600, built on a more advanced 2nm process.
The Exynos 2600 will reportedly power the Galaxy S26 lineup alongside the Snapdragon 8 Elite. And early rumors suggest Samsung’s chip could actually outperform Qualcomm’s in both speed and efficiency.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 could make 2026 flagships pricey
In Qualcomm’s favor, the company is expected to unveil its first 2nm-based chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, in late 2026. That timeline lines up with a recent leak from tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo.
According to the report, Qualcomm’s next flagship SoC will be produced using TSMC’s 2nm N2P node, a more refined version of the first-generation N2 process that’s expected to be used for Apple’s upcoming A20 and A20 Pro chips.
The shift to 2nm fabrication should deliver the usual gains: better power efficiency and higher performance density compared to the 3nm process currently in use.
DCS also claims that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 will introduce support for LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage.
But progress rarely comes cheap. The combination of a new manufacturing process, faster memory, and upgraded storage could drive up the overall cost of the chipset.
Because of that, Qualcomm’s next flagship might not appear in every high-end phone next year. Instead, rumors suggest that the regular flagship models could use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6, while the pricier Ultra versions might be reserved for the more powerful Elite variant.
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