Qualcomm's new chip is called the Snapdragon 8 Elite, instead of the expected Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. It is designed to bring computing power to smartphones, helping devices take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Chip Specifications

The Snapdragon 8 Elite features its own Oryon processor architecture. Qualcomm claims the new chip will increase performance by 45% and save 45% energy compared to the previous generation.

Snapdragon 8 Elite is manufactured on a 3nm process, with a configuration of 2 high-performance cores with a maximum clock speed of 4.32GHz and 6 energy-saving cores with a maximum clock speed of 3.53GHz, Adreno 830 GPU.

In terms of graphics processing capabilities, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip improves 40% compared to the previous generation, marking a leap forward for Qualcomm when previous versions only increased by 15-25% per year.

Qualcomm dominates the market for Android chips, meaning any updates from the company will help smartphone makers better compete with Apple.

The decision to return to using its own processor designs is part of CEO Cristiano Amon's strategy. Under previous CEOs, the Snapdragon line of chips had become dependent on Arm designs.

Oryon, developed by a team of engineers at Nuvia, a startup acquired by Qualcomm, plays a central role in the company’s laptop chips. Branded “AI PC,” these computers emphasize the latest AI features and threaten Intel’s position in the personal computer chip market.

The ability to run AI software right on the device takes a huge leap forward with the new Snapdragon chip, according to Qualcomm. Instead of accessing services on a remote server, the response becomes much faster.

It is expected that Xiaomi 15, OnePlus 13, Honor Magic 7 Pro and Realme GT 7 Pro will be the first smartphones equipped with this chip.