American chipmaker Qualcomm has officially launched its new flagship processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite System-on-Chip (SoC), designed for premium smartphones. As the successor to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, this new chip adopts the “Elite” branding, previously used in Qualcomm’s PC chips, signifying its leap in performance and AI capabilities. The Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC integrates the Oryon CPU, a powerful processor also found in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite platform for personal computers (PCs), marking a significant advancement for mobile platforms.
Qualcomm’s unveiling event highlighted that major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smartphone brands, including ASUS, HONOR, iQOO, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi, will be among the first to launch smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip in the coming weeks.
Snapdragon 8 elite: Key features
Built on advanced 3-nanometer (nm) architecture, the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC promises substantial improvements in processing speed and power efficiency. The chip features Qualcomm’s second-generation Oryon CPU, specially optimized for mobile platforms. Its unique octa-core processor design includes two Prime cores, clocked at speeds of up to 4.32 GHz, and six Performance cores with peak clock speeds of 3.53 GHz. This configuration delivers a 45% boost in both single-core and multi-core performance, while simultaneously reducing power consumption by 44%, making it ideal for high-end smartphones that require robust performance without draining battery life.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is equipped with a significantly upgraded Qualcomm Adreno Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), boasting a sliced architecture that mirrors the efficiency and design of the CPU. This upgraded GPU delivers a 40% boost in graphical performance while enhancing power efficiency by the same margin, making the SoC ideal for gaming, multimedia, and AI-driven tasks that require high-quality visuals.
Additionally, the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC integrates the Qualcomm X80 5G Modem-RF System, offering blazing-fast 5G connectivity for smartphones. It also supports dual-channel LP-DDR5x memory, enabling smooth multitasking and seamless app switching on premium devices. The combination of these features establishes the Snapdragon 8 Elite as Qualcomm’s most powerful and efficient mobile platform to date.
AI-powered enhancements
At the heart of the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s capabilities is its enhanced support for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Qualcomm has equipped the chip with a new generation of its AI Engine, which merges the processing power of the CPU, GPU, and a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) to handle complex AI workloads more efficiently.
The latest Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, integrated within the Snapdragon 8 Elite, provides a remarkable 45% improvement in AI performance and a 45% boost in efficiency per watt compared to its predecessor. This allows the SoC to power cutting-edge on-device AI applications, such as generative AI models that can perform text, image, and video generation without requiring a cloud connection. This level of performance will enable smartphones equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite to deliver next-level experiences, including more responsive voice assistants, advanced predictive text features, and real-time language translation.
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The Hexagon NPU also powers Qualcomm’s “AI ISP” (image signal processor), which enhances camera performance on smartphones. This integration enables AI-driven features such as 4K resolution Semantic Segmentation, which improves image quality by isolating and enhancing specific objects or elements within a photo. Additionally, the AI ISP supports an on-device video object eraser, allowing users to remove unwanted elements from videos directly on their smartphones, without the need for external editing tools.
Enhanced user experience and future-proofing
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC is designed to future-proof premium smartphones by offering cutting-edge performance and efficiency across various use cases, from gaming to productivity to content creation. The integration of advanced AI capabilities means that future smartphones equipped with this chip will be able to run more complex AI applications directly on the device, without relying on cloud processing. This could significantly improve user experiences, especially in areas such as augmented reality (AR), AI-enhanced photography, and on-device language models.
As the competition in the generative AI space continues to heat up, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite places the company at the forefront of the mobile AI revolution. By offering a high-performance, AI-optimized SoC, Qualcomm is positioning itself as a key player in the premium smartphone market, giving manufacturers the tools they need to create innovative, AI-driven devices for the next generation of users.
Qualcomm’s launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC marks a significant milestone in the evolution of mobile processors. With its enhanced performance, power efficiency, and integrated AI capabilities, this chip is set to power the next wave of premium smartphones from leading brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, and OnePlus. As AI becomes increasingly central to the smartphone experience, the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers the robust architecture needed to support the demanding applications and use cases of the future.
