Four flagship phone chips share a 2026 launch window, and none of their vendors uses the same baseline for its performance claims. This post lines up Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, Apple's A20 Pro, MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 and Google's Tensor G6 on what each vendor actually publishes, converts what can be converted, and says which numbers cannot be ranked at all. "Dimensity 9600" and "Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6" each cover two variants, so both are covered.
This comparison is based on official documentation, published specifications, and vendor pricing verified as of November 5, 2026. It is not based on hands-on use or benchmarks. Qualcomm's product pages are built with JavaScript and return no specifications to a text reader, so Qualcomm figures come from its product-brief PDFs.
Which chips and which variants
- Qualcomm: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, unveiled in a September 2026 release. The release text itself did not load, so OEM names and first-device dates are not confirmed here.
- Apple: A20 Pro, introduced in the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max release on September 9, 2026, and also listed in the iPhone Duo tech specs.
- MediaTek: Dimensity 9600 Pro and Dimensity 9600M, announced on September 15, 2026.
- Google: Tensor G6, in the Pixel 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro XL per Google's launch post, and in the Pixel 11 Pro Fold per its spec sheet.
The spec table: what each vendor states
| Spec | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 | Apple A20 Pro | Dimensity 9600 Pro | Tensor G6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process | 2nm | 2-nanometer | 2nm, foundry not named | Not stated |
| CPU layout | 2 Prime (up to 5.0 GHz) + 6 Performance (up to 4.0 GHz), custom Oryon | 6 cores: 2 super + 4 efficiency, clocks not stated | 2+3+3: 2x C2-Ultra (4.55 GHz), 3x C2-Pro (4.35 GHz), 3x C2-Pro (3.1 GHz) | "Upgraded CPU," layout not stated |
| GPU | Adreno with matrix cores and ray tracing | 7 cores with Neural Accelerators | Arm Mali-G2 Ultra NX | Not mentioned |
| AI engine | Hexagon NPU: 12 scalar, 8 vector, 1 tensor, 1 element | Dual 16-core Neural Engine | NPU 1090 plus a second-generation always-on NPU | TPU, "50% more compute" |
| Stated AI precision | INT2, INT4, INT8, INT16, FP8, FP16, mixed | Not stated | INT4 mentioned, "double INT4" throughput | Not stated |
| TOPS figure | None | None | None | None |
| Memory | LPDDR5x/6, up to 5300 MHz, up to 24 GB | 50% more bandwidth than A19 Pro, RAM not stated | LPDDR6 10667 (LPDDR5X 10667 also listed) | Not stated |
| Storage | UFS 5.0 | Not stated | UFS 5.0 | Not stated |
Sources: Qualcomm's Gen 6 product brief and Extreme Gen 6 brief, MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro page, and Google's Pixel performance page. The Tensor G6 process node, core layout and GPU are not on any official page read, so they are left blank instead of repeating rumors.
Normalizing what can be normalized
Memory speed. Qualcomm quotes a clock of "up to 5300 MHz," while MediaTek quotes 10667. LPDDR transfers data twice per clock, so as a derived estimate a 5300 MHz clock is about 10,600 transfers per second per pin, the same class as MediaTek's figure. The two are not a mismatch; they are the same unit expressed two ways.
Radio and wireless. Qualcomm's platform includes the X105 modem and FastConnect 8800, and MediaTek's includes an integrated 5G Advanced modem and Wi-Fi 7. Apple and Google ship the modem and wireless chips separately from the main chip, so they cannot be placed in a SoC column. Apple names the C2 modem (iPhone 18 Pro only) and the N1 wireless chip; Google's pages read do not name a modem.
| Peak figure | Qualcomm | MediaTek | Derived ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5G downlink | 14.8 Gbps (6Rx, Release 19 hardware) | over 7.4 Gbps (sub-6, 5CC, Release 17) | about 2.0x, not like for like |
| Wi-Fi peak | 11.6 Gbps (4x4) | 7.3 Gbps (Wi-Fi 7) | about 1.6x, not like for like |
Treat those ratios as a statement about the specification sheets and not about real-world speed. The configurations, release levels and test conditions differ.
The claims table: five baselines, no common one
| Vendor | CPU claim | GPU claim | AI claim | Baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualcomm, Gen 6 | +10% performance, 37% better efficiency | +35% | NPU +14%, AI performance per watt +20% | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Qualcomm, Extreme Gen 6 | +13%, 37% better efficiency | +44% | NPU +35%, AI performance per watt +33% | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Apple | "Faster than the competition," no figure | Up to 40% faster | Double the AI processing power | A19 Pro (GPU, AI); iPhone 17 Pro (sustained performance) |
| MediaTek, Pro | +17% single-core, +15% multi-core | +27% peak, 24% lower power at peak | 51% faster LLM prefill, 55% more tokens per watt | Unnamed previous-generation flagship |
| 25% faster browsing, 15% quicker app launches | Not stated | Up to 3.5x faster on-device Gemini Nano tasks | Tensor G5, on pre-production devices |
Chaining these into a ranking would require a shared reference chip, and none exists. A 10% CPU gain over one vendor's last chip says nothing about how it compares with a 17% gain over another vendor's unnamed predecessor. Qualcomm also notes results vary by OEM implementation, and MediaTek's marked figures come from its own lab testing on demo devices. The only direct cross-vendor number in the set is Apple's "faster than the competition," which carries no figure.
Where the official pages disagree
- MediaTek's own pages: the September 15 release describes the Dimensity 9600M as an "upcoming chipset" with no CPU, GPU or NPU specifications, yet its product page lists a full spec sheet (C1-Ultra, C1-Premium and C1-Pro cores, Mali-G1 Ultra MC12, NPU 990, UFS 4.1, LPDDR5X). The 9600M page also heads its modem section "Triple 5G SIM" while its spec list says dual SIM dual active, and the 9600 Pro page lists both LPDDR6 and LPDDR5X at 10667.
- Apple's sustained-performance figure: the iPhone 18 Pro release says up to 40% over iPhone 17 Pro, while Apple's iPhone Duo release says up to 35% over the same phone. Both are sustained-performance claims for the A20 Pro in different enclosures.
- Qualcomm's two variants: the briefs list identical process, CPU clocks and memory for Gen 6 and Extreme Gen 6. The published difference is only the size of the claimed gains over Gen 5, so it is unclear what distinguishes the two hardware parts.
- Cooling is not comparable: Apple ties A20 Pro to a vapor chamber with three times the surface area of the iPhone 17 Pro's, and Google describes a vapor chamber on the Pixel 11 Pro phones without tying it to Tensor G6. Sustained-performance claims therefore describe a phone, not a chip.
Who each chip does not fit
- A20 Pro and Tensor G6 cannot be bought or put into another maker's phone. They appear only in Apple and Google devices.
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6: first devices were not confirmed on the pages read. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 uses the previous "Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy."
- Dimensity 9600: MediaTek says first phones were "expected to launch this quarter," and that phrase from a September 15 release does not say which quarter. No devices are named.
- Anyone ranking AI speed: no vendor publishes a TOPS figure, so no AI ranking is possible from official sources.
Which one for which question
| If you want | Look at | Why, from the published pages |
|---|---|---|
| The most documented peak connectivity numbers | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 | Modem, Wi-Fi, memory and codec limits are all itemized in the brief |
| Stated CPU clocks including the small cluster | Dimensity 9600 Pro | Only MediaTek lists a clock for every core group |
| A documented cooling design tied to a chip | A20 Pro | Apple describes die-beside-memory packaging attached to a vapor chamber |
| On-device Gemini Nano speed claims | Tensor G6 | Google quotes 3.5x speed and energy gains over Tensor G5 for Gemini Nano tasks |
| A headline AI number to compare | None | No vendor states TOPS |
FAQ
Does any of these chips list a TOPS figure?
No. The Qualcomm briefs, MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro page, Apple's releases and Google's pages read here give no TOPS figure for any of the four.
Which of them are stated to be 2nm?
Qualcomm, Apple and the Dimensity 9600 Pro state a 2nm process. Google does not state a Tensor G6 process node on the pages read.
Can the vendors' performance percentages be compared?
No. Each is measured against a different earlier chip, and Qualcomm notes that results vary by OEM implementation.
Last verified: November 5, 2026. Chip specifications and device lineups change as phones ship. Pages that could not be read: Qualcomm's Snapdragon product pages and press-release body (JavaScript-only content), and any official Tensor G6 process, core-layout or GPU specification.
Sources
- Qualcomm — Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 product brief
- Qualcomm — Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 product brief
- Qualcomm — Snapdragon leads the agentic AI age (press release)
- Apple Newsroom — Apple debuts iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Apple Newsroom — Apple unveils iPhone Duo
- Apple Support — iPhone Duo tech specs
- MediaTek — Dimensity 9600 Pro
- MediaTek — Dimensity 9600M
- MediaTek — Dimensity 9600 Pro press release
- Google Store — Pixel performance: the power behind the Pixel 11 series
- Google Blog — Google introduces Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL
- Google Store — Pixel 11 Pro Fold specs