Qualcomm introduced its two latest chipsets for smartphones, designed for the era of “agentic artificial intelligence (AI).” Since Apple, Samsung Electronics, and Taiwan’s MediaTek are betting on developing their own chips in response to the spread of agentic AI, competition for dominance in the mobile chip market is expected to intensify even further. At the “Snapdragon Summit 2026,” held in Maui, Hawaii, USA, on September 22 local time, Qualcomm unveiled two next-generation mobile processors (AP): the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th Generation and the Snapdragon 8 Elite 6th Generation.
This is the first time that Qualcomm has used a “dual lineup” strategy for its chipsets, employing the 2-nanometer process from Taiwanese TSMC. Estimates suggest that the company split its product range so that smartphone makers can choose APs based on performance and price tier. The top model, Elite Extreme, is equipped with a graphics processor (GPU) and a neural processing unit (NPU) in addition to the central processor (CPU).
Qualcomm explained that the chipset is optimized for running AI workloads and supports AI models with up to 30 billion parameters. It is expected that Qualcomm chipsets will be installed in premium smartphones from Xiaomi, Motorola, ZTE, and other companies. “AI agent” will become the main trend. CEO Amon added: “From now on, AI will require devices not just to carry out commands, but to focus more on completing tasks than on navigating between apps.”
Industry forecasts indicate that Qualcomm’s introduction of its newest chipset will further intensify competition among mobile processors, which are the “brains” of smartphones. As a result of the rapid rise in memory prices, companies are increasingly focusing on the premium segment, and competition for the performance of mobile chips to improve users’ interaction with AI is also increasing. This month, Apple announced that it equipped its premium product lineup with the “A20 Pro” chip manufactured using TSMC’s 2-nanometer process during the presentation of the iPhone 18 series. Samsung Electronics also used the “Exynos 2600” based on a 2-nanometer process in some models of its flagship “Galaxy S26 series,” released in the first half of this year. Taiwanese MediaTek also unveiled the “Dimensity 9600 Pro,” made using TSMC’s 2-nanometer process, on October 15, sharpening competition based on the latest 2-nanometer process in the mobile AP market.
In particular, in the second quarter of this year, Exynos captured 9% of the market for mobile APs worldwide by shipment volume, coming close to a double-digit figure, according to data from Counterpoint Research. This is 3 percentage points higher than in the same period last year and 2 percentage points higher than in the previous quarter. There are also assumptions that if Samsung Electronics increases the share of smartphones with Exynos chips in the future, Qualcomm’s share in the market could drop somewhat. According to Counterpoint, Qualcomm’s share is showing a downward trend: from 30% in the second quarter of 2024 to 23% in the second quarter of this year.
