Snapdragon 8 Elite: the chip that will conquer the market with its focus on multimodal AI

Qualcomm finally presented its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, the processor that will equip the main high-end Android phones in 2025. The new Qualcomm platform will stop using “generation” (Gen 1, 2 or 3) as a complement to its name for now be called “Elite”. According to a company statement, the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor will employ a combination of the second-generation Oryon CPU (so far only available in PCs), Adreno 830 GPU, and upgraded Hexagon Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

Altogether, the Snapdragon 8 Elite promises a maximum clock speed of 4.32 GHz. The figure is 45% higher than the statistics offered by its current top-of-the-range processor, the Snapdragon Gen 3. In addition, it ensures a 49% increase in its graphical power for video games, accompanied by a 44% increase in energy efficiency.

In the multimedia section, the Qualcomm platform supports QHD+ displays with up to 240 Hz and 4K resolutions at 60 Hz. It also has support for HDR playback with codecs for HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. Meanwhile, in connectivity it allows the use of Wi-Fi 7 at maximum speeds of 5.8 Gb/s and Bluetooth 6.0.

“Earlier this year we introduced it for the first time on PC, bringing extraordinary experiences and unparalleled battery life to users, energizing the industry and catching the attention of consumers. “Today, our second generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU debuts on our flagship mobile platform – it’s a huge step forward and we hope consumers will be delighted with the new experiences enabled by our CPU technology,” said Chris Patrick, Vice President senior of the mobile phone division at Qualcomm.

Multimodal AI will be a priority

Qualcomm did not take its finger off the line on the subject of artificial intelligence. The built-in Hexagon NPU features a focus on multi-modal AI. In this way, phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite can better process requests that come from different sources, such as text, images, audio and video.

“With leading CPU, GPU and NPU capabilities, the Snapdragon 8 Elite revolutionizes mobile experiences by delivering personalized multi-modal generative AI right on the device, enabling speech, context and image understanding to improve everything from productivity to creative tasks, while prioritizing user privacy,” said the executive.

As for the manufacturers that will use the Qualcomm platform, ASUS, Honor, OnePlus, Oppo, RealMe, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, Nubia and RedMagic have already shown plans to incorporate it. According to the company, announcements of the first phones with Snapdragon 8 Elite will be made in the coming weeks. In the last week of October 2023, Xiaomi presented the first phone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and is likely to repeat the strategy with its Xiaomi 15 terminal.