On Tuesday, Qualcomm unveiled its cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile processor and the Snapdragon X Elite chip, specifically crafted for the 'generative AI' era. At the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii, this tech giant stressed the pivotal role of AI in the next wave of mobile and computing experiences, focusing on premium Android smartphones and PCs.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon commented during the Snapdragon Summit, "We're truly stepping into the era of generative AI. It's a fresh era, and when we contemplate its implications, we anticipate an unparalleled transformation in how we interact with these devices."

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is set to be Qualcomm's initial chipset capable of running generative AI models directly on the device, a concept similar to what Google has pursued with its Tensor 3 chipset, which powers the latest Pixel 8 series. Qualcomm asserts that their latest mobile processor can create an image using Stable Diffusion in less than a second.

Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and DELL-E have traditionally been confined to web browsers on desktop computers. However, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm is integrating Gen AI directly into its next-generation premium chip. This means that artificial intelligence will become an integral part of the user experience. While smartphones have offered some form of AI functionality for a while, most of these capabilities were limited to tasks like photo editing and improved autocorrect.

In contrast to many other tech companies in the AI field, Qualcomm conducts complex AI processing on its devices rather than relying on cloud-based solutions. This approach opens up new possibilities for AI applications on smartphones. During the event, Qualcomm showcased how they will utilize Meta's open-source Llama 2 models to create an intelligent virtual assistant, similar to ChatGPT, but running "on a device" rather than "in the cloud." Qualcomm is clearly positioning its processors as accelerators for AI tasks, signaling that large language models can operate on phones instead of requiring large data centers. This not only has the potential to reduce the cost of running AI models but also to facilitate the development of more advanced AI-driven applications designed for modern smartphones.

Qualcomm aims to leverage the growing interest in AI to boost sales of high-end smartphones, which is a strategic move benefiting both the chip manufacturer and its OEM partners like Xiaomi and OnePlus. Jon Erensen, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, notes that "Qualcomm views AI, including on-device generative AI, as a significant distinguishing feature." Furthermore, he mentions, "What's fascinating is the exponential growth in use cases. Just about a year ago, people were talking about one or two use cases, and now we see hundreds of them."

"AI capabilities are likely to take a prominent role, but this isn't new ground for Qualcomm," notes Geoff Blaber, Chief Executive of CCS Insight, a tech consultancy. The chip manufacturer is piecing together the components needed to run large language models locally on devices, paving the way for the next generation of AI-driven experiences. These capabilities cannot be solely reliant on cloud-based solutions due to cost and performance considerations, making on-device processing essential."

However, Qualcomm's aspirations go beyond merely creating mobile chips. The company is now aiming to establish a dominant presence in the PC market and is set to release a processor it claims surpasses the speed of Apple and Intel's fastest laptop chips. This new chip, named the Snapdragon Elite X, incorporates technology acquired through Qualcomm's $1.4 billion purchase of Nuvia, a venture founded by former Apple engineers.

Built on ARM architecture, Qualcomm plans to offer computers with its new chips for purchase starting in the middle of the next year. HP and Lenovo are among the initial PC manufacturers slated to produce computers equipped with the Snapdragon Elite X processor.

The Elite X chip can achieve dual-core boosting up to 4.3GHz and delivers up to twice the performance compared to laptops powered by Intel's i7 10-core and 12-core processors, all while consuming only a third of the power, surpassing Intel's 14-core i7. Qualcomm asserts that the Snapdragon X Elite can locally handle AI models with up to 13 billion parameters without depending on cloud-based AI processing.

The company presented data showing that Qualcomm's new PC chip outperforms Apple's M2 and Intel's i9-13980HX processors in single-threaded CPU performance and matches their peak performance while using significantly less power, up to 30 percent less for Apple and 70 percent less for Intel. In fact, the Elite X chip is capable of delivering 50 percent faster peak multithreaded CPU performance compared to the Apple M2 chip. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon declared, "There's a new leader in town," when unveiling the Snapdragon X Elite.