- Qualcomm has unveiled a new processor built with premium mid-range phones in mind – the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3.
- The new chipset supports on-device generative AI models.
- The likes of Honor, Xiaomi, Redmi, and realme are expected to announce hardware with the processor later this month.
Qualcomm has announced a new mobile chipset designed with premium mid-range, or slightly lesser-specced flagship phones in mind in the form of the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3.
It features many of the elements that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 does, which debuted late last year, but is not quite as powerful (3.0Ghz vs 3.4Ghz). That said, Qualcomm has highlighted one aspect of the latest offering in particular that may be of interest to phone makers and users alike.
This as it supports on-device generative AI models, the silicon manufacturer confirmed.
“Marquee features of the latest premium-tier platforms include support for powerful on-device generative AI features, an always-sensing ISP, hyper-realistic mobile gaming, breakthrough connectivity and lossless high-definition sound,” noted Qualcomm in a press release regarding the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3.
“The platform supports a broad array of AI models including popular large language models (LLM) such as Baichuan-7B, Llama 2, Gemini Nano and Zhipu ChatGLM,” it added.
In terms of how consumers will be able to leverage the technology embedded within this new processor, Qualcomm has pointed to the lossless audio support, enhanced connectivity (WiFi 7), improved photo taking and editing, as well as being able to run models at up to 10 billion parameters.
It potentially means that on-device AI suites like that of Galaxy AI could be more readily available at a tier below that of the more expensive flagship phones. Whether that will include the Galaxy A series remains to be seen, with Qualcomm noting a handful of Chinese phone makers as being the first to tout the new processor.
It specifically named Honor, iQOO, realme, Redmi, and Xiaomi as launching devices later this month with the new chipset.
