Qualcomm Unveils 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 Chips

Qualcomm has officially unveiled two new flagship SoCs, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. With the new chips Qualcomm is looking to push smartphones further into the agentic AI era. Both chips are built on an advanced 2nm process and combine Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU, Adreno GPU and Hexagon NPU. Qualcomm says the two chips are designed to deliver improvements across on-device AI, gaming, cameras and connectivity.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 pushes AI even further

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 sits at the top of Qualcomm’s new mobile lineup and is designed for the company’s most advanced Android smartphones. Qualcomm says the platform can power everyday AI agents that respond faster and deliver more personalized experiences while adapting to users throughout the day. That focus on AI agents is one of the biggest changes in Qualcomm’s latest flagship strategy.

Gaming is also getting an AI boost through Adreno Neural Fusion. The technology uses AI to improve graphics and aims to deliver richer visuals and longer gaming sessions. The chip also brings new camera capabilities, including Advanced Professional Video (APV) support and Intelligent Pixel Control. Qualcomm says these technologies improve scene understanding, image quality and the natural appearance of photos and videos.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 brings the same flagship direction

The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is also built on the 2nm process and uses Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU, redesigned Adreno GPU and Hexagon NPU. Qualcomm says it brings many of the same AI, gaming, imaging and connectivity capabilities as the Extreme model, allowing more premium smartphones to access the company’s latest platform technologies.

Several major smartphone brands are already confirmed to use the new chips. HONOR, iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, OPPO, REDMI, RedMagic, vivo and Xiaomi are among the companies preparing devices powered by the new Snapdragon platforms. Qualcomm has not provided specific launch dates for individual smartphones yet, but says devices based on both platforms will debut in flagship phones from leading global manufacturers.