Qualcomm announced two new flagship smartphone processors on September 22. The chips are called the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6.
The company revealed the processors at its annual Snapdragon Summit. Both chips are designed to support AI features that run directly on the phone.
New AI Features in Qualcomm's Chips
Qualcomm said the new chips can help AI agents become more personal. Each chip includes a new sensing hub that can run small AI models with up to 200 million parameters.
With this sensing hub, a phone can run a personal scribe locally. It can also tell the difference between people who are speaking.
The chips can build a memory based on how a person uses their phone. Qualcomm said this helps the device give better suggestions for automating tasks.
The company also said the chips can run a complete voice agent. This means a user can speak to the phone and hear a spoken reply, with the processing done on the device.
The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 includes a new accelerator. It is built to run AI models more efficiently.
The Extreme version can run a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model locally. In this type of model, only some of the parameters activate for each task, even though the full model is larger.
For comparison, Apple released a 20-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. It was the most advanced model in Apple's third generation of foundation models.
Camera and Audio Upgrades
The new chips also bring camera improvements. They offer pixel-level control, better stabilization, and improved motion understanding.
The Extreme version supports video recording at 8K resolution and 60 frames per second. It can also record 4K video at 240 frames per second for ultra HD slow motion.
The Extreme chip supports the new Advanced Professional Video codec, known as APV. This format is meant for professional-quality recording.
Both chips use AI to boost vocals and reduce background noise. They also include Qualcomm's new voice bubble technology, which isolates a user's voice during calls.
Qualcomm has been working on more than 40 AI devices. Still, there is a belief that many people will use their phones for AI rather than separate dedicated devices.
Nothing co-founder Carl Pei has hinted at this trend in the past. Apple CEO John Ternus repeated the same idea during the iPhone Duo launch earlier this month.
At the Snapdragon Summit, Motorola announced its Motorola Signature 27 smartphone. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and is expected to be generally available sometime this year.
