Samsung Galaxy S8, Xiaomi Mi 6 To Launch In March As The First Smartphones With Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835: IHS

Alexandra Burlacu, Tech Times 27 November 2016, 05:11 am

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Xiaomi Mi 6 are expected to launch in March 2017 as the first smartphones to pack the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.

Qualcomm officially announced the Snapdragon 835 last week, revealing that its latest powerhouse was built on Samsung's 10-nanometer process. The new chipset allows for greater performance and faster charging and it's not the first time we hear that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the first smartphone to rock the new processor next year.

However, it seems the Galaxy S8 will not be the only one touting the Snapdragon 835 in the first quarter of next year. Kevin Wang, the director of IHS electronics research in China, took to Weibo to reveal (via Rayarena) that both the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Xiaomi Mi 6 will hit the market in March, both packing the Snapdragon 835 under the hood.

Why It Makes Sense

The Snapdragon 800 line of processors from Qualcomm are reserved for the elite, designed to power the latest and greatest smartphone flagships. Considering that it's built on Samsung's 10-nanometer process and that Samsung launches top-of-the-line flagship smartphones each year, it makes sense to expect the Galaxy S8 to be the first one rocking the Snapdragon 835.

Samsung had a rough year with the Galaxy Note 7 recall, which dealt a heavy blow to the company's finances and reputation — all the more reason to prepare a feisty Galaxy S8 for 2017 to make up for it. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to be among the hottest smartphones of 2017, and the most powerful mobile processor would play a big role.

Furthermore, Samsung is widely expected to introduce the next-generation Galaxy S8 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 trade show, which takes place in late February to early March. A March retail release would fall in line with rumors of a MWC unveiling.

Xiaomi, meanwhile, has had its fair share of high-end devices as well and the company is expected to keep packing top-notch specs into affordable flagships. The Xiaomi Mi Mix sold out in 10 seconds, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 sold out in less than a minute and the Xiaomi Mi 6 is expected to be an even bigger hit with the Snapdragon 835 under its belt.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Xiaomi Mi 6 are still months away, however, so take all rumors with a grain of salt for now. In the meantime, you can check out the current Samsung Galaxy S7 and Xiaomi Mi 5 flagships.