The smartphone industry is counting on AI to re-accelerate device sales after years of slow growth. But to do that, they need to give consumers a reason to buy new phones more often.
Qualcomm (QCOM) is aiming its latest smartphone chip to do just that, adding a slew of new onboard AI features to do things like virtually adjust lighting for video calls in real-time. A device that enables you to recognize real-world objects without accessing the web.
Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm’s latest top-of-the-line mobile processor, delivering improved performance and power efficiency using Prime Cores and Performance Cores designed by the company for high-end applications. casual tasks.
Qualcomm says the chip will be installed in smartphones from companies including Samsung, Xiaomi, ASUS, OnePlus, Honor and Oppo in the coming weeks.
The chipmaker promises significant performance gains with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, with the company’s central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) delivering 45% and 40% improvement over the previous generation Snapdragon 8 Gen. 3. He says it should save a lot of energy. Samsung used it in its Galaxy S24 series of smartphones.
But the biggest feature of this chip is its ability to enhance onboard AI capabilities. Qualcomm says the chip makes it possible to erase unwanted objects in photos as well as videos without uploading the movie to the cloud for processing. Instead, your phone can easily remove the person who came into the background of your shot.
Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon gives a keynote speech at Computex 2024 in Taipei on June 3, 2024 (Photo by I-Hwa CHENG/AFP) (Photo by I-HWA CHENG/AFP) via Getty Images) (I-HWA CHENG via Getty Images)
The company also says that OEM partners can use the NPU to extend photos across borders, for example by increasing the background of a shot, or to use the camera to interact with the world around it. For example, you’ll be able to point your phone at an object and ask the onboard voice assistant questions about the object in the shot, without having to be connected to the web.
Qualcomm announced the first-generation Snapdragon
Onboard AI is the main commonality between the two generations of chips. Qualcomm is working to ensure that users don’t need an internet connection to use generative AI apps and services, which could be a big differentiator between new and older smartphones and PCs. .
Both the PC and smartphone industries believe that AI will be the next big feature in forcing consumers to upgrade their devices to new systems in the coming months and years. Still, equipping a device with the ability to run AI apps won’t interest the majority of customers in spending hundreds of dollars on a new laptop or smartphone. Only interesting new apps powered by AI can make that happen.
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Sure, more intelligent digital assistants are useful, and better photo and video capabilities are great, but there’s still no single killer app or app category that gets people talking about wanting an AI device. there is no. My own friends and family are certainly interested in marketing around AI products, but with the exception of some early adopters and people who want the latest and greatest devices, they still don’t want to pay for AI. No one is interested in that.
However, the consumer AI lifecycle is still in its early stages, and there is plenty of time for great new AI-powered apps to emerge. And when that happens, we’ll finally feel the desire for AI-powered hardware.
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Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter @Daniel Howley.
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