Qualcomm has officially announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 at the Snapdragon Summit. The latest flagship mobile chipsets are built on a 2nm process and feature Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU architecture. The duo include Adreno GPUs and Hexagon NPUs. Qualcomm says the platforms offer improved on-device AI, gaming, camera capabilities and connectivity over the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
Many Android brands, including Xiaomi, Honor, iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, and RedMagic, are gearing up to use the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series in their upcoming flagship devices. Here are the devices launched and set to go official with this new chipset in the coming weeks.
Xiaomi 18, Xiaomi 18 Pro Max
Xiaomi is the first brand to bring the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series chipsets to its flagship smartphones. The newly launched Xiaomi 18 Pro runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset.
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max
Photo Credit: Xiaomi
The Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max ship with Android 17-based HyperOS 4. The Xiaomi 18 Pro sports a 6.4-inch panel while the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max features a 6.9-inch display. They offer a new Privacy Display functionality. The Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max sport 2.7-inch and 2.9-inch rear displays, respectively. They carry up to 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 onboard storage. The duo has a triple rear camera system, headlined by a 200-megapixel primary shooter, a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera and a 50-megapixel sensor. It also has a 50-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max packs an 8,500mAh battery, while the Xiaomi 18 Pro has a 7,000mAh cell. Both phones support 100W wired and 50W wireless fast charging, along with 27W wired reverse charging.
Honor Magic 9 Pro
Honor Magic 9 series will launch in China on September 28. Ahead of the official launch, the company has already confirmed that the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max and Honor Magic 9 will run on Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 series chipsets. They will also include the company’s self-developed Honor Light H1 imaging chip.
The duo are currently available for pre-reservations in China. The Honor Magic 9 series will launch in Black, Silver, and Olive Green colours, while the standard Magic 9 will be offered in an additional Popcorn Yellow finish. They will carry up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
OnePlus 16
The upcoming OnePlus 16 is another Android flagship confirmed to ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, with a peak clock speed of 5.0GHz. The company has announced that the SoC will be paired with the “Wind Chaser Gaming Kernel” (translated from Chinese) to improve the gaming experience.
With the hardware and new gaming architecture, OnePlus 16 is claimed to deliver up to 185 fps. It will be available in Tomorrow’s Star, Martian Masterpiece, and Dark Forest (translated from Chinese) colour options. It will come in 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, 16GB + 512GB, and 16GB + 1TB RAM and storage configurations. It will have a 200-megapixel primary camera and feature a 9,000mAh battery with 100W wired charging support.
The OnePlus 16 is expected to launch in China next month. The brand is expected to reveal the launch date at the OnePlus Game Conference on September 28. The handset is currently up for pre-orders in China.
iQOO 16
The iQOO 16 is another model set to launch soon, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 SoC. The iQOO 15 successor will also feature the company’s self-developed Q4 gaming chip. The chip supports 2K resolution at up to 165fps. The launch will take place on September 29 alongside the iQOO Pad Ultra and iQOO Gaming Headset.
Photo Credit: iQOO
The upcoming iQOO 16 will feature a Samsung M16 AMOLED display with LEAD 2.0 technology. The panel is claimed to deliver up to 10,000 nits of local peak brightness, up to 2,800 nits of global peak brightness, and up to 3,300Hz PWM dimming. The Chinese variant of iQOO 16 will be offered in Chasing Light, Legendary and Racing Track (translated from Chinese) finishes.
Motorola Signature 27
Motorola is another leading manufacturer to use Qualcomm’s new chipset in its flagship handset. The Motorola Signature 27 with Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 SoC was previewed at the Snapdragon Summit, and it is expected to be available for purchase in global markets soon
For optics, the Motorola Signature 27 features a 50-megapixel Sony LYTIA 910 main camera and a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera. It has Motorola’s ArcticMesh cooling system with a redesigned 3D vapour chamber. It also includes the Gemini Omni. The company has promised to provide seven years of OS upgrades for the Signature 27.
RedMagic 12 Pro+
RedMagic is expected to use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 in its upcoming RedMagic 12 Pro+ gaming smartphone. It is confirmed to arrive in October.
The new chipset is also expected to reach flagship smartphones from Vivo and Redmi. During the official announcement, Qualcomm confirmed these brands as part of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 ecosystem, though the handset names and launch timeline are still unconfirmed.
