Key Takeaways
- Erencan Yılmaz has uncovered hints about the Leica camera sensors in the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and future Xiaomi models.
- The Xiaomi 18 Pro is expected to compete with Apple's iPhone 18 Pro in September 2026.
- The Snapdragon 8 Elite Generation 6 is likely to be released in 2026, with improved performance and efficiency.
- Qualcomm's modem line continues with the expected introduction of the SDX90 and SDX95 modems in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
- The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 will be manufactured using the advanced TSMC 2nm process for the first time.
Who is brave enough to look ahead? The famous code analyst Erencan Yılmaz, who has recently uncovered solid hints about the Leica camera sensors used in the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, has provided an early peek into September 2026. This is when the Xiaomi 18 Pro is expected to go up against Apple's iPhone 18 Pro. As seen in the code snippets below, the current HyperOS 3 code already shows signs of future Qualcomm products, particularly a chipset identified by the model number SM8950, likely representing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Generation 6
In contrast to this year, where there was uncertainty about the name of the Snapdragon 8 Elite successor for quite some time, it seems that the release of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Generation 6 in 2026 is almost certain. The same goes for the continuation of the Qualcomm modem line, which transitioned from the Snapdragon brand to Qualcomm this year. Following the Snapdragon X80 and the existing Qualcomm X85 (featured in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5), it’s not surprising that the SDX90 and SDX95 modems are embedded in Xiaomi's code. These are expected to be introduced as Qualcomm X90 in 2026 and Qualcomm X95 in 2027, likely during the Mobile World Congress, assuming the current release timeline stays the same. Of course, this information isn’t particularly useful for smartphone users right now, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is anticipated to deliver a major boost in performance and efficiency, as it is expected to be made using the TSMC 2nm process for the very first time.
Source: Link