Qualcomm has debuted Oryon, its latest set of custom computing technology, into its mobile phone chips for the first time to help power AI features.
Eager to revamp its mobile phone chips to suit a continually-growing AI era, global technology company Qualcomm is bringing its laptop chip technology to mobile phones for the first time.
The company explained that the goal is to make mobile phones more powerful to complete generative AI (Gen AI) tasks – something that the smartphone industry is eager to capitalise on. Branded as Oryon, the technology is a set of custom computing technology that first powered laptop chips, which went on sale earlier in 2024 to help power AI features in Microsoft Windows PCs.
Parts of the chip itself have also been redesigned to handle tasks like generating images and text. Referred to as the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Reuters reports that the leading chip-seller will also offer software developers special tools beyond the ones already available in Alphabet’s Android devices to tap into those parts of the chip.
“AI has been one of those where I think Google is moving fast, but we have our own technology to offer that end developer,” Chris Patrick, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President and General Manager for Mobile Handsets, tells Reuters.
Defining the next era of mobile
The 8 Elite offering from Qualcomm is much like a successor to the earlier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and will likely power the Samsung Galaxy S25, OnePlus 13 and other smartphones expected to be released in 2025. The company has already cited Samsung Electronics, Asustek Computer and Xiaomi as some of the companies that will use the new chip.
Samsung in fact signed a multi-year deal to use Snapdragon chips in its flagship Galaxy smartphones in 2024.
Such innovations are designed to empower the Snapdragon 8 Elite to transform user experiences with their devices and make on-device multi-modal Gen AI applications a reality on smartphones. Powered by Snapdragon, Qualcomm’s semiconductors, the technologies fuel experiences for the user such as improved camera capabilities, Qualcomm’s powerful AI-ISP and improved gaming and web browsing experiences.
Qualcomm’s announcement comes shortly after tech giant Apple and Meditek unveiled their latest chipsets, the A18 Pro and Dimensity 9400, respectively.
First delivered to PCs, Qualcomm Oryon delivered strong experiences and powerful battery life, which caught the attention of consumers. Now, the company is eager to bring this power to its Snapdragon mobile platforms.
“Today, our second generation of the Qualcomm Oryon CPU debuts in our flagship Mobile Platform – it’s a major leap forward and we expect consumers to be thrilled with the new experiences enabled by our CPU technology.” – Chris Patrick, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Mobile Handsets at Qualcomm.
“With leading CPU, GPU and NPU capabilities, the Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers dramatic performance enhancements and power efficiency,” Chris Patrick explains.
“In addition, it revolutionises mobile experiences by offering personalised, multi-modal Gen AI directly on the device enabling the understanding of speech, context and images to enhance everything from productivity to creativity tasks while prioritising user privacy.”
The current state of the AI chip market
Qualcomm is just one of many companies currently vying for leadership in the global chip market.
AI chips have surged in popularity in recent months, with the increase of businesses eager to experiment or develop tools with the latest technology. As a result, according to MarketsandMarkets, the global AI chip market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.4%, from US$123.16bn in 2024 to US$311.58bn by 2019.
The market is currently being driven by the increasing adoption of AI servers by hyperscalers, in addition to the growing use of Gen AI across key industries worldwide.
Within the mobile world, chips like Qualcomm’s are expected to elevate the industry even further and offer customers capabilities like never before.
