Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 leak reveals on-device AI headed to budget Android phones under $400

New Snapdragon chip leak suggests on-device AI could be coming to phones people actually buy

It looks like the chip could gain a dedicated DSP and AI processor for the first time in the Snapdragon 4 series. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 4 series of chips usually powers very cheap Android phones. Now, it looks like the company's upcoming Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 has leaked online ahead of its formal release. NotebookCheck apparently obtained a confidential diagram sheet for the unannounced SM8475 chipset, claiming it's likely the Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 processor. The outlet claims that the chip is built on TSMC's 4nm process, much like the previous processor. Furthermore, it's powered by two Kryo Gold CPU cores (apparently Cortex-A78) and six Kryo Silver cores (said to be Cortex-A55). This would be a very pedestrian CPU setup in 2026, although it should deliver smooth everyday performance on budget phones. The purported Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 is said to offer an Adreno 600-series GPU. There's no word on specific performance improvements, although the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5's apparent Adreno 600-series GPU delivered a 77% boost over its predecessor. The new chip is also listed with a dedicated Hexagon DSP and AI processor, which isn't available on previous SoCs. This suggests that the Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 could bring significant AI and machine learning upgrades to sub-$300 phones. Other notable features include newfound support for LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1 storage compatibility, a Release 17 5G modem with sub-6GHz support, and USB 2.0 speeds. There's no word on specific performance and efficiency improvements compared to the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5. Nevertheless, it's clear that the CPU will likely see mild upgrades at best over the older chip. There's no change in the manufacturing process, either. So our fingers are crossed for major GPU and AI gains.

Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 leak: AI could be coming to budget Android phones

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 4 Gen 6 has apparently leaked under the model number SM4875, and if this pans out, AI features may be headed to cheaper Android phones. The bigger story here doesn't seem to be the CPU so much as on-device processing and graphics. Based on the leak, this may be the first Snapdragon 4 chip to include a dedicated Hexagon DSP along with a separate machine learning engine. That could translate into quicker on-device voice features, live translation, smarter camera tools, and the kind of privacy and lower data use that come from keeping more of the work on the phone. The same leak also points to an Adreno 6-series GPU in place of the older Adreno 4-series, which could help with gaming, video, and just moving around the interface day to day. CPU upgrades look fairly restrained: two performance cores, six efficiency cores. Still, TSMC's 4nm process, possible LPDDR5 support, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 6.0 could make these phones feel snappier in real use, even if a lot of brands end up sticking with cheaper LPDDR4X memory. If you're shopping for phones under $400, this is one to keep an eye on. Even so, rising DRAM and NAND costs, along with the budget segment in 2026, could still push prices up or force compromises somewhere else. For now, there's nothing to download. This chip looks geared toward entry-level Android phones, at least from what the leak shows, and the final specs could still change.