Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro in Geekbench test and new Dimensity 9600 Pro leak
Xiaomi’s new Xring O3 chipset has already achieved impressive results, but is held back by older technology – it’s a 3nm chip (TSMC N3P) with Arm-C1 cores. The upcoming chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek promise even better results, although both companies have yet to release official details. Therefore, the well-known tipster Digital Chat Station has now revealed the technical specifications of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and the MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro
The “Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6,” presumably the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro (SM8975), is manufactured using TSMC’s new 2nm process (N2P). With its two Prime cores clocked at 5.01 GHz, the CPU breaks the 5 GHz barrier. The 8-core configuration is as follows: 2x 5.01 GHz + 3x 4.03 GHz + 3x 3.74 GHz. For comparison, the 8 cores of its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, clocked at 2x 4.61 GHz and 6x 3.63 GHz.
MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro
The MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro is also manufactured using the N2P process. However, it uses cores developed by Arm. According to DCS, these consist of 2x 4.55 GHz Canyon + 3x 4.35 GHz Gelas-b + 3x 3.10 GHz Gelas. While this information is not yet official, “Canyon” is likely the codename for the Arm C2 Ultra cores, “Gelas-b” for the C2 Premium cores, and “Gelas” for the older C1 Pro cores.
Now let’s look at the GPUs: The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro uses the Adreno 850. This is a 3-slice GPU with 18 MB of graphics memory. The chipset also features 8 MB of last-level cache (LLC).
As you may have already heard, Qualcomm will release two Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipsets – the one mentioned above refers to the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. The non-Pro model (SM8950) will feature a similar 2+3+3 CPU and an Adreno 845 GPU. Clock speeds, however, are still unknown. Like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V-Series chipset, the new chip will also be equipped with a two-throw, two-slice GPU and 12 MB of graphics memory. LLC will be reduced to 6 MB.
Xiaomi Xring O3
The Dimensity 9600 Pro uses the Arm G2-Ultra NX MC12 GPU – the same GPU we’ve already seen in the Xiaomi Xring O3 chip. It’s a 16-core GPU divided into two clusters: 8 conventional GPU cores and 8 with NX Tensor acceleration (for image upscaling, frame generation, etc. in games).
iQOO 16 with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro in the Geekbench test
Furthermore, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro with the model code SM8975 was spotted in a Geekbench test, after having already been spotted on AnTuTu last week.
An unnamed device with the model number vivo V2606A – presumably the iQOO 16 – has appeared in the Geekbench database with Android 17, 16 GB of RAM, and the SM8975 processor, which, as mentioned, is believed to be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. Geekbench lists the exact same configuration: eight cores, two with a maximum clock speed of 5.01 GHz, three at 4.03 GHz, and the remaining three cores at 3.74 GHz.
The iQOO 16 with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro achieved 3,434 points in the Geekbench single-core test and 9,334 points in the multi-core test. For comparison, the iQOO 15 with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scored 3,643 points in the Geekbench single-core test and 10,466 points in the multi-core test.
The iQOO 16 that underwent the Geekbench test is likely a prototype, which probably explains the lower score. The retail version is expected to perform better. Rumors suggest the iQOO 16 will be released in September, but there have been no official teasers yet.
Qualcomm will host its annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii next month, from September 22nd to 24th. The two new flagship processors in the Snapdragon series will be officially unveiled there.
