The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 was the flagship processor from the company for this year, and was slightly upgraded with the Snapdragon 855 Plus, but the chip-maker is expected to launch its next-gen processor, likely dubbed the Snapdragon 865, soon. Sony is allegedly already developing a flagship smartphone based on this upcoming SoC, according to reports from Japan.

The processor, by its codename SM8250, was spotted in a description on Sony’s firmware distribution server. Of note is that the current SD855 is codenamed SD8250, so we’re likely looking at the next-gen successor.

As per the rumors concerning this processor, GSMArena notes that we will likely see a version with a 5G modem integrated, like the Kirin 990 inside the Mate 30 Pro, and a 4G-only variant, which will be likely cheaper for OEMs to incorporate in their flagship, non-5G variants.

If the past is of any indication, we should expect this particular Xperia flagship with the new Snapdragon 865 chip to be announced at, or around the upcoming MWC 2020 in Barcelona.