Chips & Hardware
Qualcomm launches new Snapdragon chips built around on-device AI agents
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 flagship smartphone processors, with the higher-end chip capable of running a 30-billion-parameter AI model locally.
At its annual Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm said the new chips are designed to improve personalization for AI agents. Both chips include new sensing hubs that can run small models of up to 200 million parameters, letting smartphones run a personal scribe locally, differentiate between speakers, and build memory based on usage to improve task-automation suggestions; Qualcomm said the chip can run a complete voice-in, voice-out agent. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 has a new accelerator element designed to run models more efficiently, while the higher-end Extreme version can run a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) model locally — meaning that while the overall model size is 30 billion parameters, it activates only a subset of those parameters for any given task. For comparison, Apple released a 20-billion-parameter MoE model, the most advanced of its third-generation foundation models, at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June.
The new chips also give cameras pixel-level control to enable more pro-level photography, along with improved stabilization and motion understanding; the Extreme version supports video recording at 8K 60fps and 4K240 for ultra-HD slow motion, and enables the new Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec for professional recording. Both chips can also use AI to boost vocals and reduce noise, and include Qualcomm’s new voice-bubble technology, which isolates a user’s voice from background noise during calls. At the event, Motorola announced its Motorola Signature 27 smartphone, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with general availability sometime this year.
Qualcomm has been working on more than 40 AI devices, but the company still believes many people will rely on their phones for AI rather than other dedicated devices. Nothing co-founder Carl Pei has pointed to this trend previously, and new Apple CEO John Ternus reinforced the same view during the iPhone Duo launch earlier this month.
Why it matters
Qualcomm is betting that on-device AI agents, not standalone AI hardware, will be where most consumers actually experience the technology, putting pressure on chipmakers to fit ever-larger models into phone-sized power budgets.