First Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 leak has bad news for 2027's flagship phones
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR The first major Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 leak suggests Qualcomm could offer two versions of the chip, akin to Apple.
The leaker also asserts that 2027's flagship phones could be more expensive due to the cost of the chipset.
It also sounds like standard flagship phones could use a less capable flagship Snapdragon processor.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite powers plenty of great Android phones today, but we've already seen some Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 leaks. Now, it looks like we've got our first Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 processor leak.
Digital Chat Station on Weibo reports that the Qualcomm SM8950 chipset, expected to be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3, might be available in 'dual versions.' The leaker tentatively calls the less capable chip the SM8945 and likens this arrangement to Apple's A and A Pro chips used in its iPhones.
As a refresher, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus ship with the A18 processor, while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max use the A18 Pro chipset. The two processors share the same CPU, but the A18 Pro offers more cache and a more capable GPU.
Qualcomm will reportedly use TSMC's 2nm manufacturing process for these chips, but there is some bad news. The tipster says the cost of this chip has 'soared' and that new flagship phones released from the end of 2026 will see a price increase.
This price hike apparently means the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 might not be used in standard flagship phones. Instead, the 'SM8945' chip might be used in these models while more premium devices get the full-blown Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3. In other words, phones like the Galaxy S27 and Xiaomi 17 could have less impressive performance than their Plus/Pro/Ultra counterparts.
Qualcomm hasn't revealed the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 yet, never mind the Gen 3 chipset. So it's possible that things could change between now and the late 2026 launch window.
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