Qualcomm widens the net for its AI-focused mobile chipsets

The chip uses ‘specially selected premium capabilities’ for on-device generative AI features, photography and gaming, we’re told. What this appears to mean is that particular features of the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 line have been ported onto a chipset designed for a wider pool of phones, not just the very top-end models.

It delivers ‘the most sought-after 8 series capabilities to more Android flagship smartphones’, says the release. These include support for on-device generative AI features, an always-sensing ISP, ‘hyper-realistic’ mobile gaming, ‘breakthrough connectivity’ and lossless high-definition sound.

The platform supports various AI models including large language models (LLM), such as Baichuan-7B, Llama 2, Gemini Nano and Zhipu ChatGLM. 

“With capabilities including on-device generative AI and advanced photography features, Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is designed to enhance user experiences, fostering creativity and productivity in their daily lives,” said Chris Patrick, GM of mobile handsets at Qualcomm. “We’re elated to introduce the latest addition to our premium Snapdragon 8-series, our most premium mobile offering, bringing a host of exceptional specially selected capabilities to more consumers.”

William Lu, President of Xiaomi Corporation, added: “We're thrilled to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies to introduce the first device powered by Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 – coming soon. This new mobile platform will allow us to provide our customers with a personalized premium experience, all thanks to generative AI.”

Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 will be adopted by OEMS including Honor, iQOO, realme, Redmi and Xiaomi with the first device expected to be announced in March.

The flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 emerged in October last year, alongside a series of chips aimed at the PC market. AI, specifically of an on-device and generative nature, is very much where the emphasis is for all of these new chips Qualcomm is dropping on the market.

What their presence in a new phone practically means for the average user, beyond some behind the scenes optimisations, is not fully sketched out. But the rhetoric points towards giving handset makers room to innovate and try new things thanks to the on-board AI.

Since the experience of using smartphone has become pretty standardised in the IoS/Android duopoly era, it will be interested to see what weird and wonderful new use cases the industry comes up with in this regard, beyond just invoking the term AI in every announcement.