5 Snapdragon 8 Elite Features That I Can’t Wait to Try

The Snapdragon 8 Elite has arrived.

Qualcomm’s latest flagship mobile chipset may have a new name, but its goal remains the same: to set the standard for phone chips over the next year.

Performance has been enhanced, with internal benchmarks indicating a significant improvement compared to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

However, the 8 Elite is not solely focused on performance. It boasts several exciting upgrades that could revolutionize how you use your phone. Here are five key changes that I am eager to explore.

Battery life without efficiency cores

The major update on the CPU front is the absence of efficiency cores in the 8 Elite. While last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 had two efficiency cores, they have been replaced by performance cores in its successor.

With upgraded dual Oryon cores, all eight cores now prioritize performance. How will this impact power efficiency?

Qualcomm claims that it will improve even further. This means that battery life should at least be maintained compared to the 8 Gen 3, if not enhanced, to offset the increased power demands.

But can battery life truly remain strong when all CPU cores are geared towards performance? I am excited to test this out for myself.

Ultra-realistic gaming

Gaming is a central focus for Qualcomm with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Its upgraded Adreno GPU features a new sliced architecture, resulting in 40% faster performance, 40% power savings, and 35% improved ray tracing performance.

Additionally, it is the first mobile chipset to support the Unreal Engine 5.3 with Nanite, promising “film-quality 3D environments for complete immersion.”

The Unreal Chaos Physics engine aims to make complex in-game interactions, such as avalanches or waterfalls, appear more realistic.

Could this finally deliver mobile gaming graphics on par with consoles and PCs? I am eager to find out.

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Multimodal generative AI

Generative AI is a trend embraced by nearly every tech company, and Qualcomm is no exception.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite features a dedicated Hexagon GPU with additional scalers and vectors compared to the 8 Gen 3 version.

Of all the upgrades, I am most excited about multimodal generative AI. Current iterations typically focus on text, photo, and image outputs, limiting their applications. The 8 Elite introduces support for sound and video, along with the ability to recognize objects through your camera.

This significant upgrade could make generative AI much more versatile.

Video Object Eraser

You may be familiar with AI-powered object erasers for photos, allowing you to remove items and regenerate the background realistically.

But what about videos? The Snapdragon 8 Elite claims to remove objects seamlessly from moving images as well.

I am curious to see how this will work in practice. Can Qualcomm truly identify objects in videos and create convincing backgrounds? It will be fascinating to witness.

Real-time relighting

Poor lighting during video calls is a common issue, especially at home where ideal lighting conditions may be lacking.

A Snapdragon 8 Elite device could potentially address this concern. Real-time relighting enhances lighting conditions during calls by adding a virtual light source that can be customized manually or optimized using AI based on your environment.

Could this feature solve my video call lighting woes? I certainly hope so.

While the Snapdragon 8 Elite supports these features, their availability on all phones utilizing it is not guaranteed. However, if they live up to their promises, they offer an exciting glimpse into the future of smartphones.