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Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, Bets Big on Agentic AI
On Tuesday, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chips, built on a 2-nanometer process to power on-device artificial intelligence in premium smartphones.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon envisions a transition from app-centric devices to 'agentic-centric' platforms, positioning the chips as an 'AI hub' to compete with Apple's A20 Pro in iPhones.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 features an NPU that is 14 percent faster and an Adreno GPU that is 35 percent faster than previous generations, while the Extreme version runs models with more than 30 billion parameters.
Motorola has committed to using the chip in its upcoming Motorola Signature 27 smartphone, which will feature the new Spectra ISP for 8K video capture at up to 30 fps.
While the smartphone market faces a 16.7 percent decline this year according to IDC, manufacturers are pivoting to premium devices to maintain profit margins during the emerging 'agentic age'.