For its flagship series of chipsets, Qualcomm typically releases only one variant. However, it seems that Qualcomm wants to expand its portfolio. According to a recent post on Weibo by tipster Digital Chat Station, Qualcomm could expand the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 flagships with a Pro variant .

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip to come in a Pro variant

Right now, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the only flagship chipset from Qualcomm. There is a slightly lower-specced Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, but we wouldn’t call it the same. However, Digital Chat Station claims that we could see a Pro version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip. This means that we can look forward to even better performance.

Their post also notes that these chipsets will be built using TSMC’s 2nm process . However, this shouldn’t really come as a surprise. 2026 is when we can expect to see more 2nm chips flood the market. This includes chipsets from Apple, Samsung, and MediaTek.

But what phones will use which chip?

Currently, it is unclear which phones will make use of Qualcomm’s new chipset. However, Digital Chat Station speculates that both OPPO and Vivo are expected to move forward with “Pro Max” branding for their phones. If that’s the case, there’s a good chance that these devices might use the 2nm MediaTek Dimensity 9600 chipset.

As for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, they speculate that this could be reserved for phones bearing the “Ultra” branding. Presumably this is because the chip is more costly, so phone makers want to use it for their highest-end products. That makes sense, especially if the reports about TSMC’s 2nm chips costing 50% more are true.

In any case, it’s too early to tell. It has been less than half a year since the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was announced. If Qualcomm keeps its schedule, we might only see the Gen 6 announced much later in the year. In the meantime, if you need to upgrade, the Gen 5 is easily one of the most powerful chipsets you can find today.

However, if you don’t mind waiting until November or December, or even 2027, then holding out for the 2nm Gen 6 might be a better idea.