Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6: few real differences between the base version and the Pro?

Qualcomm is planning to launch the new Snapdragon 8 Elite series in the coming months. Two new SoCs are on the way: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. A new leak anticipates common points and differences between the two chips.

A real difference?

The two Qualcomm chips will be manufactured using TSMC's 2 nm production process and will have the same CPU, with a 2+3+3 configuration, and 16 MB of L2 cache. The Pro version is expected to have a slightly higher clock frequency to ensure better performance (mainly in benchmarks and a few other tasks).

The most marked difference will concern the GPU, with the Pro version featuring the Adreno 850 and 18 MB of memory while the base version of the chip will have the Adreno 845 with 12 MB of memory. Another difference is expected to relate to the support for LPDDR6 memory, which is planned exclusively for the Pro chip. However, manufacturers will also have the option to choose LPDDR5 memory.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen Pro will have a higher price compared to the base version. This factor will influence the final price of smartphones. Only the most expensive flagship devices will feature this chip.

The real difference in terms of performance, however, will need to be evaluated in practice but could be limited. The debut of the new Snapdragon chips is expected in August-September, with the first smartphones starting to hit the market in the following weeks. More details will emerge in the coming weeks.