SM8950 is tipped to be 2nm successor to purported Snapdragon 8 Elite 2
SM8945 may be a less powerful variant with underclocked GPU cores
Qualcomm could use both TSMC and Samsung Foundry for fabrication
Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is the successor to 2023's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and current flagship SoC
Photo Credit: Qualcomm
Qualcomm is rumoured to debut the successor to its flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset this year. The successor to this purported chip, dubbed Snapdragon 8 Elite 3, could be fabricated on a 2nm process, according to claims by a tipster. The improved lithography is said to be implemented not only for Qualcomm's flagship 2026 SoC but for another variant too, which may be introduced as a less powerful iteration of the purported Snapdragon 8 Elite third generation chip. Meanwhile, Apple is also tipped to debut its A20 chipset based on a 2nm node next year.
Qualcomm's 2nm Chips in 2026
This information comes from Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese). In a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, the tipster shared details about Qualcomm's 2026 chipsets. The US-based chipmaker is said to launch two SoCs next year based on a 2nm node — SM8950 and SM8945.
The former is tipped to be the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and may be introduced as a flagship processor for premium smartphones. Meanwhile, the latter could debut as a less powerful iteration of the purported Snapdragon 8 Elite 3. Although it is also expected to be fabricated on a 2nm process, it may come with underclocked GPU cores or a less powerful GPU altogether.
To lower production costs, Qualcomm is reported to adopt a dual-sourcing strategy. It may depend on both TSMC and Samsung Foundry for the fabrication of its 2026 flagship smartphone chipset.
According to a WCCFTech report, Apple is also gearing up to introduce a 2nm chipset next year dubbed the A20 Pro. It is expected to power the iPhone 18 models and the Cupertino-based technology giant could be TSMC's first vendor for its 2nm node. Called TSMC N2, it is said to offer a nanosheet transistor structure which delivers full-node performance while maintaining power benefits.
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