Chipset maker Qualcomm is reportedly working on its own line of gaming smartphones. According to DigiTimes, a Taiwanese publication focusing on semiconductor news, Qualcomm will be partnering with ASUS to produce its first smartphone that could arrive by the end of 2020. ASUS is expected to focus on the hardware and design while Qualcomm will be taking care of “industry design” and “software integration optimizing its Snapdragon 875 platform.” As per tradition, Qualcomm releases its new flagship chipset in the month of December with device manufacturers introducing their new phones in the following year. If the report is anything to go by, we might see the new Snapdragon 875 debut this year alongside the first finished product rocking the new chipset. However, the device is expected to ship by next year itself.

Qualcomm seems to be following the same path that NVIDIA took back in 2016 by introducing its own line of ‘Founders Edition’ GPUs. It was not only a reference design but also helped the company earn some profits by selling its own line of GPUs. On top of that, ASUS seems to be a really good choice considering the company’s pedigree of making one of the best gaming smartphones on the market. Currently, the ROG Phone 3 is rated as the best gaming smartphone packing Qualcomm's most recent flagship chip, the Snapdragon 865+.

Apparently, there have been agreement calls for the joint purchasing of components needed for both the ASUS ROG Phone gaming phones and Qualcomm’s gaming phones including displays, memory, camera modules, batteries, and cooling solutions. This essentially means that the upcoming Qualcomm gaming smartphones could carry some elements from the ROG Phone lineup. The two companies are also expected to produce about 1 million phones a year, with 500,000 dedicated for Qualcomm while the other falling under the ROG Phone brand.

We reached out to ASUS for comment but a spokesperson told us that they do not comment on rumors or speculations. Qualcomm will presumably unveil its Snapdragon 875 chipset at the upcoming virtual Snapdragon Tech Summit event starting December 1st, so we won't have to wait long to learn more.