While it’s still unclear which Galaxy S27 series devices will use Samsung’s own Exynos 2700 chipset, it’s safe to assume that the Galaxy S27 Ultra will use the best Snapdragon processor. We already know the two Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 are coming next month, but a new leak may have revealed some of their key specs.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro may break the 5GHz barrier
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro may be manufactured on TSMC’s 2nm process and feature eight cores. According to a new Weibo post (source in Chinese) from prolific leaker Digital Chat Station, the chip will have two prime cores clocked at 5.01GHz, which would be a first for a smartphone processor.
Alongside the record-breaking cores, the chip may also feature three performance cores at 4.03GHz and three efficiency cores clocked at 3.74GHz. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is also expected to use an Adreno 850 GPU, which earlier leaks suggested would come with a major performance boost.
This is a markedly different from the configuration of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which powered the Galaxy S26 Ultra and various other Android flagship smartphones. Last year’s chip also had eight cores, but those were two prime cores at 4.61GHz and six performance cores at 3.63GHz.
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Will the Galaxy S27 Ultra be the first phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset?
There will be two top-tier Snapdragon chips this year. | Image by PhoneArena
Considering Samsung isn’t expected to launch the Galaxy S27 series earlier than January 2027, it’s all but certain other brands will use Qualcomm’s new chips in their phones first. Funnily enough, Digital Chat Station calls the higher-end processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 in his post, despite earlier leaks suggesting it’ll be a Pro version.
Qualcomm won’t be the only manufacturer to offer a 2nm chipset this year, with MediaTek using the same process for the Dimensity 9600 Pro. In the same post, Digital Chat Station says the processor will be made on the same N2P node as the Snapdragon, but it’ll use cores designed by ARM.
What do you prefer for your next phone to have?
The configuration for this chip may be 2 x 4.55GHz Canyon super cores, 3 x 4.35GHz Gelas-b cores, and 3 x 3.10GHz Gelas cores. Those are probably Arm’s C2-Ultra, C2-Premium, and C1-Pro cores, respectively, though we’ll need to wait for a confirmation. The GPU could be Arm G2-Ultra NX MC12, which is the same as the one in the Xiaomi Xring O3 chip.
Users on Reddit didn’t miss the opportunity to joke with the potential name of Qualcomm’s new chip, which would add to the company’s history of poor choices. However, breaking the 5GHz limit didn’t earn too much praise either, with commenters highlighting other improvements as more attractive for them.
Users on Reddit are not overly excited about the new chips. | Image by Reddit (Screenshot
This will be important in a few years
I can’t remember the last time I experienced a performance issue with a modern flagship smartphone during my normal use, including with phones from the last few years. However, getting an overpowered device today is a good way to make sure you’ll have excellent performance for at least a couple of years, which makes all the upgrades worth it.
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Ilia, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been covering the mobile industry since 2011, with experience at outlets like Forbes Bulgaria. Passionate about smartphones, tablets, and consumer tech, he blends deep industry knowledge with a personal fascination that began with his first Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices. Originally from Bulgaria and now based in Lima, Peru, Ilia balances his tech obsessions with walking his dog, training at the gym, and slowly mastering Spanish.
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