Qualcomm unveiled two flagship mobile processors at its annual Snapdragon Summit: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. The company focused this upgrade on on-device AI capabilities, aiming to enable smartphones to handle more personal assistant and voice interaction tasks locally.
Enhanced on-device model capabilities
The new chip includes an enhanced sensing hub capable of running small models with up to 200 million parameters. Qualcomm states that this enables smartphones to locally process personal records, distinguish between different speakers, and generate memory based on usage patterns to deliver more personalized automated suggestions. The company also notes that the new chip supports full voice input and voice output agents.
The premium version can run larger models locally.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 can also run a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model locally. Qualcomm states that the chip’s newly integrated acceleration units enable the model to perform tasks with greater efficiency. In comparison, Apple’s latest foundational model released in June features a state-of-the-art MoE model with 20 billion parameters.
Simultaneous upgrade of video and call features
In addition to AI, Qualcomm has enhanced image processing. The new CPU supports pixel-level camera control, improving stabilization and motion detection. The Extreme version supports 8K at 60fps and 4K at 240fps video recording, along with the APV codec. Both chips can use AI to enhance vocal clarity, reduce noise, and isolate ambient noise during calls with the new Voice Bubble technology.
Additional information: Motorola has officially announced that its Motorola Signature 27 smartphone will feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with an expected release within this year.