Android lovers are about to be treated to a truly massive boost that will make their next smartphone smarter, faster and far more efficient. US technology firm Qualcomm has just lifted the lid on its latest and greatest processor at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii and it’s promising big things from this tiny chip.
As expected, it’s called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and it’s not only around 20 percent than the previous Gen 2 but also offers some major advances in AI, photography, movie making and gaming.
First up there are those camera advancements with Android phones powered by the 8 Gen 3 getting all sorts of magical image tricks.
This chip can use its clever AI enhancements to clone backgrounds without going near Photoshop via a function called Photo Expansion. This allows you to add or extend an image with just one tap – from the demos it looks pretty impressive with the process taking a matter of seconds
HDR photo technology from Dolby is now included which will help to boost images with a greater range of colours, tones, and shades.
For those who prefer shooting video on their devices, Qualcomm is promising a boost to home movies thanks to the ability to boost the brightness of footage filmed at night and even erase people who have meandered into the frame via a simple tap ion the screen.
Zoom Anyplace – which is powered by Samsung’s first 200 MP image sensor optimised for Snapdragon – now allows capture of multiple videos, object tracking, and 2x and 4x zoom—all in 4K
And anyone who loves posting on social media is sure to like the introduction of Vlogger’s View. This lets you share both your selfie camera and rear camera video simultaneously so you can narrate whist showing people where you are.
So that’s the camera and AI but what about power and gaming.
As we mentioned earlier the Gen 3 is around 20 percent faster than before and that’s great news for anyone who likes to play games on the move.
Thanks to this latest processor, phones will be able to show on-screen action with more detail without the action slowing down.
Features such as lifelike multi-source lighting and lag-free graphics from an unprecedented 240 FPS on 240 Hz displays should make the mobile in your pocket feel a little more like a PS5 console.
“Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 infuses high-performance AI across the entire system to deliver premium-level performance and extraordinary experiences to consumers. This platform unlocks a new era of generative AI enabling users to generate unique content, help with productivity, and other breakthrough use cases.” said Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of mobile handsets, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Each year, we set out to design leading features and technologies that will power our latest Snapdragon 8-series mobile platform and the next generation of flagship Android devices. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 delivers.”
Flagship Android devices powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 are expected to be available in the coming weeks.
It’s been confirmed that manufacturers including ASUS, Honor, iQOO, MEIZU, NIO, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, realme, Redmi, RedMagic, Sony, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE will all feature the Gen 3 so watch this space.
