Qualcomm has taken the wraps off its next-generation mobile processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is set to power a new wave of flagship Android phones. The first devices to get their hands on it will be the upcoming Xiaomi 17 series.
Under the hood, the star of the show is the third-generation Oryon CPU. This is configured with two high-power cores clocked at a nippy 4.6GHz, backed by six performance cores running at up to 3.62GHz. The big claim from Qualcomm is a rather impressive 35% boost in power efficiency for the CPU alone, which feeds into a 16% improvement for the entire system-on-a-chip.
For gamers, the updated Adreno GPU promises up to 23% faster performance while simultaneously sipping 20% less power, which should be a win-win for both frame rates and battery life.
On the AI front, the new Hexagon NPU is said to be 37% quicker and more efficient than its predecessor. The company reckon these neural processing upgrades, combined with their Snapdragon Sensing Hub, could pave the way for more personalised AI assistants that actually learn your habits over time, rather than just responding to commands.
For the shutterbugs and video creators, the image signal processor (ISP) has had a significant update too. It now supports the APV codec for advanced professional video and introduces what Qualcomm calls a “computational video pipeline.” This essentially uses AI to apply enhancements to each individual frame of a video. The ISP also brings smarter, context-aware autofocus, auto exposure, and auto white balance to the table.
Rounding things out is the integrated X85 modem, which boasts an AI-enhanced Wi-Fi feature that supposedly cuts gaming latency in half. We’re keen to see how these specs translate into real-world use when the first phones land.