Qualcomm's New Processor Brings AI To Mid-range Smartphones

Qualcomm’s new processor brings AI to mid-range smartphones

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Published 22 Aug 2024

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Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. launched the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, its latest state-of-the-art mobile platform that promises on-device artificial intelligence (AI) experiences to more affordable smartphones.

The fresh release is the newest iteration of the Snapdragon 7 series, following the 7 Plus Gen 3 released in March this year. Qualcomm now targets midrange consumers with this next-gen processor, which will roughly cost between $500 to $600.

“Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 will bring the best of the 7-series to more mid-tier devices by selecting top 7-series features including on-device AI support. This platform is another proof point in our commitment to deliver the best-in-class mobile experiences to consumers at every price,” said Chris Patrick, the company’s senior vice president and general manager of mobile handsets.

The chip’s top features include on-device generative AI capabilities, such as noise cancellation and reduction, all thanks to its AI Engine dedicated NPU. It also supports multiple large language models, including Baichuan-7B and Llama 2 at one billion parameters.

In addition to that, it is powered by Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU for enhanced mobile gaming experiences. Gamers also get Adaptive Performance Engine 3.0, Variable Rate Shading, Adreno HDR Fast Blend, and support for the Vulkan 1.3 API.

Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 also offers 200MP snapshots, 64MP single capture, 21MP+21MP+21MP triple camera capture, and 4K HDR video capture. The 12-bit Spectra Triple ISP is also tossed in to enable concurrent photo and video capture with ultra-fast parallel processing and smooth zooming.

On top of all these, the Qualcomm® Kryo CPU boosts the operation of the new platform, recording a 20% improvement in CPU, up to 40% in GPU, over 30% better AI performance, and 12% overall power savings compared to Snapdragon 7S Gen 2.

Xiaomi will first use the chip in its next handset, which will be introduced in September. Other original equipment manufacturers, specifically Realme, Samsung, and Sharp, are also lining up to adopt the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 in the coming months.