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Imagine a chip so advanced that phone makers have to pause and do the math before committing to it. That’s the mood around Qualcomm’s rumored next-gen flagship—whispers point to two silicon siblings, the SM8950 and SM8975, and both sound like powerhouses on paper.
Insider reports from Digital Chat Station sketch a familiar but more extreme pattern: the SM8950 could arrive as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the SM8975 may turn up as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Both are said to be built on TSMC’s second-generation 2nm node (N2P). Smaller transistors. Higher clocks. Bigger bills.
The differences between the chips read like a premium menu. Each reportedly uses an octa-core layout in a 2 + 3 + 3 arrangement, but the SM8950 is expected to pair with LPDDR5X memory, less cache and a scaled-back Adreno GPU. The SM8975, by contrast, reportedly supports LPDDR6, more cache, and the full Adreno GPU—plus the pricetag that comes with pushing the envelope.
And there’s a twist for Samsung shoppers: rumors suggest the Galaxy S27 Ultra might use a Pro-tier variant of that chip made on Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 2nm process (SF2P). In other words, the Ultra could be the exclusive showcase for Qualcomm’s most expensive silicon—if Samsung and Qualcomm decide the math adds up.
Why would OEMs limit the Pro silicon to only their Ultra models? Simple. Cost containment. The new Gen 6 Pro reportedly delivers noticeably higher performance, but it also carries a markedly higher manufacturing cost. When a single component inflates, companies face two blunt options: eat the margin or pass the cost to consumers. The market tends to do both.
The practical result: premium phones may get pricier or OEMs will stratify their lineups more aggressively, reserving top-tier chips for the top-tier models.
Part of the squeeze comes from advanced process costs—making chips at 2nm is expensive regardless of who manufactures them. Another pressure point is memory. The rumor mill points to LPDDR6 for the Pro chip, and RAM shortages or higher RAM prices amplify the final bill. Combine a bleeding-edge node with pricier memory and you have a recipe for inflated device pricing.
Specs aren’t the whole story, though. Leaks hint the S27 series could bring camera upgrades: variable aperture, a fresh primary sensor, and a better ultrawide module. There’s talk of improved cooling to get the most from those fast chips. In short: it won’t just be faster on paper; it could feel faster in daily use.
Does that justify a higher sticker? For some buyers, yes. For others, marginal gains in benchmarks aren’t enough to pay a premium. Either way, we’re likely to see manufacturers play a more tactical game with components—mixing and matching chips and memory tiers to protect margins while offering headline-grabbing Ultra models.
All of this remains in the rumor zone for now, but the direction is clear: silicon is getting both smaller and costlier, and the industry is already adjusting its pricing strategy. The question is no longer only about raw speed—it's about which phones will carry the bill.
Source: sammobile
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