Qualcomm Leak Adds 2 New Snapdragon Flagship Chips as Gen 6 Roadmap Expands

Q: Will MediaTek's new 2nm chip dethrone Qualcomm's complex Snapdragon lineup as the true Android performance king?

Not yet. Based on the leaks, MediaTek’s rumored 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro looks capable of challenging Qualcomm on raw performance, especially GPU value, but there is not enough evidence to say it will clearly dethrone Snapdragon across the Android flagship market. Qualcomm’s leaked roadmap suggests it is not relying on a single chip. It is preparing a layered premium lineup that includes the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Gen 6 Pro on TSMC’s 2nm process, plus added Gen 5 Pro and possible “5XX Edition” variants. The Gen 6 Pro is rumored to pair Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU with an Adreno 850 GPU and LPDDR6, while the standard Gen 6 may use a slightly cut-down Adreno 845 and LPDDR5X. That gives Qualcomm room to target both peak performance and broader flagship pricing. MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro, also leaked for Q3 2026, is expected to use TSMC’s N2P node, LPDDR6, UFS 5.0 and a 2+3+3 CPU layout. Leaks suggest it could beat the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 in GPU performance and possibly undercut Qualcomm on price. If that proves true in shipping phones, MediaTek could become the better performance-per-dollar option. But “performance king” is broader than benchmark wins. Qualcomm still has advantages in modem maturity, OEM adoption, software tuning, gaming optimization and a wider flagship portfolio. Until independent testing confirms sustained CPU, GPU, thermals, battery life and real-world camera and AI performance, MediaTek is a serious threat, not the confirmed new king.

3 articles · Updated · Android Authority · Jun 26

A leaked Qualcomm roadmap points to a wider flagship lineup than expected, adding two unannounced chips: Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5XX Edition.
The 8 Gen 5 Pro appears to extend the current generation rather than replace it, carrying the SM8845 Pro label tied to the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
The roadmap also reiterates Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Gen 6 Pro, with the family rumored to use TSMC's 2nm process and split features such as Adreno 845 versus 850 GPUs and LPDDR5X versus LPDDR6.
Qualcomm has kept older flagship silicon in circulation before, so a prolonged Gen 5 strategy would fit its past approach while making Android flagship branding more crowded.
None of the chips are official, and the unexplained 5XX Edition branding leaves the biggest uncertainty in what could become a more complex top-end Snapdragon stack.