Qualcomm Debuts Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 AI Chips

Qualcomm has introduced two new flagship smartphone processors, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, designed to power advanced on-device artificial intelligence. The hardware features upgraded sensing hubs capable of running compact AI models containing up to 200 million parameters. This allows mobile devices to handle tasks like speaker differentiation, local voice-to-voice agents, and personalized scribes that build memory over time to automate user tasks.

The high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor pushes boundaries by running a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model locally. Because it uses this architecture, the chip only activates a subset of these parameters for any given task, optimizing efficiency. This capability surpasses Apple's third-generation foundation model, a 20-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model highlighted at its developers conference in June. Meanwhile, the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 includes a dedicated accelerator element to boost general model execution efficiency.

Beyond core processing, the chips introduce AI-driven media enhancements. The Extreme version supports professional-grade video recording using the Advanced Professional Video codec, enabling 8K video at 60 frames per second and 4K slow-motion at 240 frames per second. It also offers pixel-level camera control, motion understanding, and improved stabilization. For audio, both processors utilize AI to reduce background noise and boost vocals, featuring a voice bubble technology to isolate speech during calls. Motorola has already announced its upcoming Motorola Signature 27 smartphone, powered by the Extreme chip, which will be available later this year.