At its annual Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm announced two flagship smartphone processors, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with a strong emphasis on enabling better AI-focused features. According to Qualcomm, the new chips support improved personalization for AI agents. They include new sensing hubs capable of running small models of up to 200 million parameters, allowing a smartphone to run a personal scribe locally, differentiate between speakers, and build memory based on usage to make better suggestions for automating tasks. Qualcomm also said the chip can run a complete voice-in and voice-out agent locally.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 includes a new accelerator element designed to run models more efficiently. The higher-end Extreme version can run a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) model locally, meaning the full model size is 30B but only a subset of parameters is activated per task. For context, Apple released a 20-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June as part of its third generation of foundation models.

The new CPU also provides pixel-level camera control to support more pro-level photography, along with improved stabilization and motion understanding. The Extreme version supports 8K 60fps video recording and 4K 240fps recording for ultra HD slow-motion. It also supports the new Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec. Both chips use AI to boost vocals and reduce noise, and include Qualcomm‘s new voice bubble technology, which isolates a user’s noise during calls.

At the event, Motorola announced its Motorola Signature 27 smartphone, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with general availability expected sometime this year. Qualcomm says it has been working on more than 40 AI devices, though there remains a belief that many people will use their phones for AI rather than dedicated AI devices. Nothing co-founder Carl Pei has hinted at this trend in the past, and new Apple CEO John Ternus reinforced the same line of thought during the iPhone Duo launch earlier this month.