On the 21st of this month, Qualcomm unveiled the highly anticipated latest 5G flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Built on TSMC’s 3nm process technology, this chip proudly incorporates Qualcomm’s next-generation Oryon CPU, claiming to offer significantly lower power consumption while delivering “breakthrough performance enhancements” and enhanced AI capabilities.
Qualcomm emphasized that the Snapdragon 8 Elite is the most powerful, fastest mobile System on Chip (SoC) to date, setting the stage for a new era of generative AI on devices. It is specifically designed for seamless execution of complex multimodal AI tasks while prioritizing user privacy. Analysts expect this new flagship chip from Qualcomm to take on MediaTek’s recently announced Dimensity 9400, potentially making it a key player in the competitive landscape as TSMC continues to thrive with advanced manufacturing orders.
During the “2024 Snapdragon Summit” held in Hawaii, Qualcomm surprised industry observers by naming its new 5G flagship chip the Snapdragon 8 Elite, deviating from the expected naming convention of Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
Qualcomm detailed that the Snapdragon 8 Elite features a second-generation custom Oryon CPU, an Adreno GPU, and an enhanced Hexagon NPU, resulting in unprecedented performance boosts. This chip not only supports AI applications but also enhances experiences across various areas, including camera functionalities, gaming experiences, and ultra-fast web browsing speeds.
This marks the first time Qualcomm has integrated the powerful Oryon CPU into its Snapdragon mobile platform. Earlier this year, the Oryon CPU made its debut in PCs, offering users an exceptional experience along with impressive battery life.
According to Qualcomm, the second-generation Oryon CPU’s introduction to the flagship mobile platform is a significant advancement. With leading CPU, GPU, and NPU capabilities, the Snapdragon 8 Elite achieves remarkable enhancements in performance and energy efficiency.
Qualcomm reports that both the CPU and GPU of the Snapdragon 8 Elite boast over 40% improved energy efficiency. The Oryon CPU peaks at a frequency of 4.32GHz, with substantial gaming performance increases, including a 35% improvement in ray tracing. Camera features now include AI-powered light reconstruction and an AI pet suite.
In recent years, Qualcomm has developed a particularly close partnership with TSMC for chip wafer fabrication. The 5G flagship chip launched in 2021, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, was produced using Samsung’s 4nm process, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 released in 2022 and the previous year, respectively, were both built on TSMC’s 4nm process. This year, TSMC continues to secure orders with the use of 3nm processing technology.
Following the release of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 at the end of last year, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 in March, targeting the mid-range market. There are speculations that, after the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm may follow its usual pattern by initially introducing flagship products this year, with plans to roll out mid-range versions next year to further penetrate various market segments.
