Qualcomm's 2nm Chip Strategy Could Be Winning: Is MediaTek in Trouble?

In the second half of 2026, a pivotal moment is expected for the smartphone chip industry, with the arrival of the first solutions based on TSMC's 2nm manufacturing process, which should ensure a substantial leap forward in terms of performance and efficiency.

Qualcomm's strategy, which involves developing two high-end chips, could be successful. A new report confirms that many OEMs would prefer to focus on Snapdragon solutions rather than those from MediaTek.

A Winning Strategy? Qualcomm plans to launch two new high-end chips in the second half of 2026: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Gen 6 Pro. Currently, most OEMs in the Android market are ready to turn to Qualcomm, while only OPPO and Vivo will utilize MediaTek's 2nm chip (at least for the initial production batches).

The reason could be related to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, which, thanks to a better price-performance ratio, could be the preferred choice for many manufacturers, ensuring substantial savings in overall component costs. More details will arrive in the coming weeks. Qualcomm is heavily investing in its new 2nm chips and aims to carve out a leading position in the market, further increasing its market share.

It will be particularly interesting to understand the actual performance gap between the Gen 6 and Gen 6 Pro. Qualcomm's two SoCs could have the same CPU, with the Pro possibly offering an advantage in the GPU.