Qualcomm announced the release of two new flagship mobile processors, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, during its annual Snapdragon Summit. The company positioned these chips as significant steps forward for on-device artificial intelligence, aiming to enhance AI agent personalization and local model processing.
Central to the new designs are updated sensing hubs capable of running small-scale models with up to 200 million parameters. According to Qualcomm, these hubs enable smartphones to perform tasks such as running a local personal scribe, distinguishing between different speakers, and constructing usage-based memory to improve automated task suggestions. The company noted that the hardware can sustain a complete voice-in and voice-out AI agent locally.
The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 introduces a new accelerator designed to improve processing efficiency. Meanwhile, the Extreme variant is built to handle a 30 billion parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) model locally. This architecture allows the system to activate only a subset of parameters necessary for specific tasks, rather than running the entire model. For context, Apple recently unveiled a 20 billion parameter MoE model at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Beyond AI, the processors feature enhanced camera capabilities with pixel-level control to support professional-grade photography and video. The Extreme version supports 8K video recording at 60 frames per second and 4K at 240 frames per second for ultra-HD slow-motion. It also introduces support for the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec.
Audio performance is similarly prioritized, with both chips offering AI-driven noise reduction and vocal enhancement. Qualcomm also highlighted its new voice bubble technology, which isolates the user’s voice during calls to minimize background interference.
Motorola was among the first partners to showcase the hardware, announcing its new Motorola Signature 27 smartphone. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, the device is scheduled for general availability later this year.
These launches align with Qualcomm’s broader push into the AI hardware space, with the company reporting work on more than 40 AI devices. Industry leaders, including Nothing co-founder Carl Pei and recent comments from Apple CEO John Ternus, have suggested a growing consumer preference for utilizing smartphones for AI tasks over dedicated standalone devices.
Another flagship chip battle. I just want my phone camera to work perfectly without all this AI gimmickry.
30B parameters locally? That is genuinely impressive. Hope battery life doesn’t suffer for this power.