Samsung Finds Serious Issues With Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 — Qualcomm Disputes It

Samsung has reportedly encountered overheating and performance issues with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 during internal testing, according to a South Korean publication named Sedaily. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is Qualcomm's first chipset built on a 2nm process. Despite the move to a more advanced manufacturing process and Qualcomm's new packaging design, Samsung is still experiencing thermal problems.

The chipset reportedly throttles under heavy loads, reducing its clock speeds when sustained high performance is required. However, the report does not provide specific figures from Samsung's internal testing, making it challenging to independently verify the claims. Qualcomm has addressed the overheating concerns by adopting Offset PoP packaging, which helps improve thermal performance by separating the DRAM from the main silicon.

An earlier test showed the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 taking about 15 minutes to reach its maximum temperature threshold, more than double the time taken by devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Qualcomm's Chief Marketing Officer, Don McGuire, dismissed the overheating claims as "100% NOT accurate," stating that smartphone manufacturers constantly tune their platforms as they approach launch.

However, McGuire's comments were made in relation to the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, not the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 can run at a higher clock speed of 5.00GHz by operating at a higher power limit, but this can also lead to increased heat output. If Qualcomm cannot resolve the reported issues, Samsung might consider using its own Exynos 2700 processor, which is expected to utilize Samsung's improved SF2P 2nm manufacturing process.

The overheating claims remain unverified at this stage, as Samsung's internal test data has not been made public. Qualcomm has disputed the reports, but the discrepancy between McGuire's statement regarding the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Extreme model may leave some uncertainty about the extent of the thermal issues.