Qualcomm announced that its upcoming flagship mobile platform will feature a system-on-chip (SoC) built on the 7nm process node.

Usually new silicon samples start around 6 months before commercial device availability. But Qualcomm's announcement is most probably a response to Huawei's recent press release that it would release the new 7nm Kirin 980 SoC in the Mate 20 smartphone.

The new Qualcomm SoC can be paired with Qualcomm's X50 modem in order to enable the first generation 5G smartphones next year.

Qualcomm promised to offer full details of the next-generation flagship SoC and platform in the fourth quarter.