Motorola Signature 27 may be a battery-saving beast but a gaming nightmare with Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6
Snapdragon’s newest flagship processor is reportedly crashing smartphones.
Motorola Signature 27 | Image by Motorala
If you're eagerly waiting for the Motorola Signature 27, you might be aware that it'll feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor. It's the latest chipset from Qualcomm, introduced at the recently held Snapdragon Summit. Interestingly, it is in the news again, not because of its incredible benchmark scores or surprising numbers when compared to the iPhone 18 Pro Max's A20 Pro chip, but because it is reportedly causing black-screen and restart issues on some devices equipped with it.
In addition to the upcoming Motorola Signature 27, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor, which is based on a 2 nm process, is present in some of the latest smartphones, such as the Honor Magic Pro Max, the Xiaomi 18 Pro series, and the iQOO 16. However, some users in China have reported experiencing black screens, random reboots, and crashing problems on these devices, especially when playing resource-demanding games. The story has been shared by two reputable sources, Tech Home and Abhishek Yadav.
The tipster Abhishek Yadav has also shared what they believe is causing the problem. According to the information available to him, the crashes and random reboots on the aforementioned devices are being caused by low-voltage tuning in the firmware. In layman's terms, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor receives less power in order to provide good battery life. This sounds like good news for the device's battery, but on the negative side, if the chipset isn't getting enough power during demanding situations, it could cause the smartphone to display a black screen, crash, or even reboot unexpectedly.
The iPhone 18 Pro series apparently did not have the best start. Ever since it became publicly available, users have reported facing different issues with it, one of which is that it restarts randomly. Since the A20 Pro chipset that powers the device is also based on a 2 nm process, many reportedly believe that the restart problem might have something to do with a flaw in TSMC's new 2 nm process.
Many smartphones are struggling during heavy load
Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 phones are facing random black screen and restart issues in China
— Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) October 5, 2026
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, Honor Magic9 Pro Max and iQOO 16 users report sudden reboots, mostly while gaming. Some Xiaomi 18 Pro units with 8 Elite Gen 6 are hit too
Reports claim this is due to low voltage tuning in the firmware, brands give the chip less power to save battery, so in heavy games it doesn't get enough power and the phone restarts
Qualcomm hasn't said anything yet, while Dimensity 9600 Pro on the same TSMC's 2nm has almost no such reports
Tech Home also shared plenty of screenshots that appear to show complaints from users who are facing the mentioned problems on devices equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip. The content of the shared images appears to be in Mandarin, so I, personally, can't figure out exactly what the affected users have to say about the whole problem.
Which Motorola Signature 27 specification excites you the most?
7 Votes
The reason is probably known
Is there a flaw in TSMC's latest 2 nm process?
But I, personally, believe that isn't the case, as Apple has already confirmed that the restart issue in the latest iPhones stemmed from a problem with the new Face ID sensor. The company has already released the iOS 27.0.1 update, which contains the fix for this issue. So, currently, there isn't any strong evidence to conclude that there is a defect in TSMC's 2 nm process.
Furthermore, I would highly advise against coming to any conclusions unless we get an official statement from Qualcomm or any of the smartphone manufacturers affected by the issue. If the crashing and black-screen issue is caused by a flaw in what is believed to be the firmware, then it will most likely be resolved through an OTA update.
The Motorola Signature 27 was announced last month and is expected to be released sometime in October or November this year. Surely, the problem at hand, which is reportedly related to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor, is concerning, especially if you are a hardcore gamer. However, I am pretty confident that the issue will most likely be resolved before the Motorola phone becomes publicly available.
Should you not get the Motorola Signature 27?
That's why you should surely go for the upcoming Motorola flagship, as it doesn't only come with one of the fastest processors but is also the first known Google device to support GrapheneOS.
Don't forget to check out these stories:
- I have 4 reasons to blindly pick Motorola's Signature 27 over the Pixel 11 Pro, and one is impossible to ignore
- The Motorola Signature 27 will be more impressive than its predecessor in at least two big ways
- Motorola is officially launching the Signature 27 flagship next week, possibly in the US
- Follow me on Threads and X
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