Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.

Latest report says Google Pixel 2 will launch with the existing Snapdragon 835

August 01, 2025

The latest report by an “extremely reliable source” is despite previous claims that the Pixel 2 phones will be powered by a more powerful Snapdragon 836.

Whenthe first generation Pixel phones launchedlast autumn, they featured an upgraded version of Snapdragon 820. Simply called Snapdragon 821, the then-new chipset brought minor improvements, and the speculation so far has been that it’d be a similar story with this year’s Pixel duo. In fact, previous leaks – includingthe infamous Evan Blass– indicated that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL would be powered by Snapdragon 836, a slightly more powerful version of the existing Snapdragon 835 processor.

Article image

Well, it turns out, this may not be the case. BothXDA-DevelopersandAndroid Policehave confirmed with their sources, whichXDA-Developerscalls “extremely reliable,” and Qualcomm reportedly has no plans to release a Snapdragon 836. It simply does not exist according to the two websites. This is surprising given that Qualcomm has a history of bringing updated versions of its flagship “mobile platforms” a few months after their initial release.

In other words, it’s very likely that the Pixel 2 phones will launch with the existing Snapdragon 835 chipset. Of course, it is possible that they might feature an overclocked version of the chipset, but it sounds like Qualcomm does not have a new, improved chipset in store for us – not yet anyway.

Article image

Would it make a difference in your decision to buy this year’s Pixel phone if both the regular and the XL launched with Snapdragon 835? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.