Xiaomi 18 series will arrive before anyone else with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 from Qualcomm

Qualcomm already has a date for its most important annual summit. The Snapdragon Summit will be held between September 22 and 24and it will be the stage where the company officially present the new generation of Snapdragon 8 Elite chipswhich on this occasion will arrive divided into two variants. Several manufacturers want to take advantage of the media pull of the event to launch their flagships that same month, including Xiaomi, vivo and Oppo.

According to the latest rumors, it will be Xiaomi who takes the honor of debuting the new silicon before its rivals. The Xiaomi 18 series is already making noise in the usual leak circles, and this time the details point to a range made up of three models with quite different approaches from each other.

Three models, three different approaches

The Xiaomi 18 family will consist of three terminals: the Xiaomi 18, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max. Each one targets a different audience and budget, something that is noticeable both on the screens and on the cameras.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max would be the most ambitious model of the trio thanks to its photographic section. I would have two 200 megapixel sensorsone of which would be the main sensor with 1/1.28 inch LOFIC technologya considerable size for a smartphone camera module. This type of sensor usually translates into better light capture and a wider dynamic range, something especially useful in scenes with very light and very dark areas at the same time.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro, for its part, would focus more on the screen experience. Rumors speak of a larger rear screen than that of previous generations and the possible incorporation of a visual privacy function, designed so that the content is hidden from prying eyes when viewed from lateral angles.

The Xiaomi 18, the entry model of the range, would be the most compact of the three with a screen 6.4 inches. Despite its small size, it would mount a 7,200 mAh batterya notable figure considering the space available within the chassis.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Gen 6 Pro, the key to the deal

The other main protagonist of this story is the chip that will power these three phones. Qualcomm would have a new generation of Snapdragon 8 Elite divided into two versions– The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, both manufactured in a 2 nanometer nodealthough it is still unclear whether production will be carried out by Samsung or TSMC.

The two chips would incorporate Oryon cores of new generation organized in a configuration 2+3+3 (two maximum performance cores, three intermediate performance cores and three efficiency cores). In the graphics section, the normal Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 would mount an Adreno 845 GPU with 12 MB of integrated graphics memory, to which an additional 6 MB of last level cache (LLC) would be added.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro variant would raise the bar with a Adreno 850 GPU equipped with 18 MB of graphics memory and 8 MB of LLCa considerable improvement over the standard version. In addition, Qualcomm would have a third variant in development, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 without the Elite surname, presumably designed for somewhat more limited range terminals.

Why price rules in this decision

The reason behind this three-chip structure (and three Xiaomi 18 models) would, according to rumors, be purely economic. The first estimates place the price of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro at around $300 per unit, a high figure that Qualcomm would charge manufacturers and that they would transfer only to their most premium models.

This would explain why only the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max would have the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro (and possibly the future Xiaomi 18 Ultra, if it finally arrives later), while the Xiaomi 18 and Xiaomi 18 Pro would stick with the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.

Although the three models will share a processor generation, they will not all arrive at the same time. According to the leaked report, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max would be launched in September, right after the Snapdragon Summit, allowing them to claim the title of the world’s first phones with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. The standard Xiaomi 18, on the other hand, would have to wait until October to hit the market.

If all these data are confirmed, the Xiaomi 18 series would arrive at a particularly competitive time, with Oppo and Vivo hot on its heels to also get the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 as soon as possible. We will have to wait until September approaches to see if Xiaomi manages to maintain its advantage.