Qualcomm has revealed its new top-end mobile processors that will power the next wave of Android flagships in 2024. But this time, the focus is not just on raw performance and camera enhancements. Instead, Qualcomm is focusing its attention on generative AI and bringing it to smartphone users with an on-device approach. If you’ve played with products like ChatGPT and DALL.E Image Generator, be prepared for such tricks to be available natively on your next Android phone.
At the heart of Qualcomm’s latest mobile processor is a next-generation Kryo core based on Arm’s Cortex-X4 that delivers clock speeds of up to 3.3 GHz. It is claimed to be 30% faster than its predecessor, while being 20% more economical in power consumption. It is based on TSMC’s 4nm fabrication technology, which is a generation behind the 3nm stack deployed by Apple for the A17 Pro silicon that powers the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
A leap forward in mobile gaming
The core architecture is somewhat unconventional with a 1+5+2 format. Doing the heavy lifting is a core core, assisted by five performance cores clocked at 3.2 GHz. For less demanding tasks, there are only two efficiency cores clocked at 2.3 GHz. For gaming enthusiasts, Qualcomm claims that the Firepower now allows 240fps gaming. You just have to find a reasonably high-refresh-rate panel and, of course, a game that can pull those figures.
Qualcomm is also taking some inspiration from the PC gaming ecosystem, thanks to a new frame generation algorithm that can increase the FPS count from 60 to 120. It’s a big leap, but we’ll have to see how the games look in actual tests. Unreal Engine 5’s Lumen System is here to do what hardware-accelerated ray tracing does in PC and console games, producing more accurate and realistic shadows and reflections in games.
Qualcomm also mentioned 8K gaming on external displays in its press release, which is certainly ambitious, but there aren’t many details available on that front. Those gaming chops come to life courtesy of the onboard Adreno GPU, which provides a performance and energy efficiency boost of 25% each.
Leaning towards the future of AI phones
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, following in the footsteps of Google’s Tensor G3, is a sign of many intriguing AI tricks to come, especially those that have so far remained exclusive to Google’s Pixel phones or paywalls in professional desktop-grade editing apps. Are hidden behind. Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will allow users to remove unwanted objects from videos. Additionally, it leverages Stable Diffusion’s generative AI tricks to let users change the background in their images.
Generative AI Fill is also a part of the package, allowing users to expand the canvas of their original photos by using AI to add more elements courtesy of predictive pixel generation that was originally created in the camera’s frame. Were not. All those AI tricks are made possible by deploying specialized modules (which include a 98% faster NPU (Neural Processing Unit), support for multiple-modal AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and a dedicated AI stack).
The chip maker claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the fastest chip of its kind that can handle static propagation queries for text-to-image generation in less than a second. Qualcomm also says its latest chip can process more than 20 tokens each second for generative AI models like Meta’s Llama 2. When it comes to practical implementation, an AI assistant based on this model works in conjunction with third-party plug-ins like SkyScanner. Help users manage their journey with just a short text/voice command.
more camera tricks
On the imaging side, support for the DCG image sensor for computational HDR upscaling, Night Mode for video recording, and compatibility with the standalone T0F (time of flight) sensor for detailed depth mapping also come to life courtesy of Qualcomm’s latest silicon. Is. Dolby HDR photo capture is here too, which means that compared to 8-bit JPEG shots that only reflect 16.7 million colors, you’ll get 10-bit depth in photos that can reproduce over a billion color shades Is.
For video recording enthusiasts, Qualcomm’s latest flagship brings support for 8K HDR and 4K 120fps recording. Slow-mo video capture at 960fps is also on the table, along with 12-layer multimedia segmentation for greater control over editing and an advanced Bokeh detailing system in video. Most impressive, however, is the Night Mode video capture at 4K 60fps.
The connectivity suite is led by the Snapdragon X75 5G modem and FastConnect 7800 system, which brings Wi-Fi 7 and 5G Advanced-ready to the devices. On the display front, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 leads the way by introducing external display support for 8K panels and screens that refresh at 240Hz.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Availability
Along with the chip, we also have confirmation of which companies will be using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in their future phones. So far, Asus, Honor iQoo, Meizu, Nio, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Redmi, RedMagic, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE have all confirmed to use the new processor in future releases.
Qualcomm says the first Android phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 are “expected to be available in the coming weeks.” It’s likely we’ll see some phones with Gen 3 chips before the end of the year, but most phones with the processor should launch during 2024.
