Qualcomm may divide its upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 platform into two variants later this year, with early leaks suggesting that the standard Xiaomi 18 could ship without the higher-tier Pro chipset.
Multiple Chinese leakers report that Qualcomm plans to segment its flagship mobile processors in response to rising component costs, introducing two separate Elite-branded chips instead of a single top-tier model.
Digital Chat Station claims on Weibo that Qualcomm will unveil new flagship silicon in September, following a similar timeline to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 announcements in September 2025.
Unlike last year, Qualcomm is reportedly developing two distinct models under the Elite Gen 6 banner, internally identified as SM8950 and SM8975.
According to the leak, the SM8950 will launch as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the SM8975 will carry the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro branding as a higher-performance alternative.
Digital Chat Station alleges that only the Pro variant will support LPDDR6 RAM, alongside what the leaker describes as a maxed-out cache configuration and a full-power GPU.
If accurate, this split would mirror broader industry trends where chipmakers create differentiated tiers to balance performance ambitions against manufacturing and pricing pressures.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro could therefore target larger or premium Ultra-branded devices, while smaller or more price-sensitive flagships may adopt the standard Elite Gen 6 instead.
Leaks indicate that Xiaomi intends to use both chipset variants across the Xiaomi 18 lineup, though Digital Chat Station expects the base Xiaomi 18 to rely solely on the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.
That approach would position the Xiaomi 18 below potential Pro or Ultra siblings in raw memory and GPU capability, even if overall architectural improvements remain consistent across the generation.
Qualcomm has not confirmed the existence of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 or Gen 6 Pro models, and final chipset configurations may evolve before any official September announcement window.
