Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 1 hr ago
Qualcomm unveils flagship Snapdragon chips focused on on-device AI
Qualcomm announced two new flagship smartphone chips, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, at India Mobile Congress 2026.
The chips are designed for premium phones, including upcoming Xiaomi flagship devices.
Qualcomm says they improve camera features by detecting and tracking subjects at the pixel level.
The Extreme version can run a large language model with up to 30 billion parameters directly on a phone.
Running AI on the device can reduce delays, keep more data on the phone and make some features more reliable when internet access is weak.
Qualcomm described an AI agent that could use an email invitation to help organise a schedule and suggest flights, though some information would still need to come from the internet.
The announcements point to new AI and imaging features in future phones, but no release dates or specific devices were given.
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 at India Mobile Congress 2026.
The flagship chipsets are designed for premium smartphones, including Xiaomi’s latest flagship devices.
Qualcomm highlighted on-device AI, advanced imaging and power efficiency as key areas of focus.
Qualcomm says the Extreme Gen 6 can run a large language model with up to 30 billion parameters on the device.
The two companies also discussed how AI agents could handle tasks such as organising schedules and suggesting flights.
- Who
- Qualcomm unveiled the chips. Xiaomi and Qualcomm representatives discussed their features.
- What
- Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 flagship chipsets.
- When
- At India Mobile Congress 2026. The article was published on 12 October 2026.
- Where
- India Mobile Congress 2026; the article does not state the event’s city.
- Why
- The chipsets are designed for premium smartphones, with a focus on on-device AI, imaging and power efficiency.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6.
HT Tech spoke to representatives from Xiaomi India and Qualcomm India about the chipsets and AI agents.
- Chipsets
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6
- Event
- India Mobile Congress 2026
- On-device model capacity
- Up to 30 billion parameters on the Extreme Gen 6
- Xiaomi representative
- Gautam Batra, Associate Director at Xiaomi India
- Qualcomm representative
- Sumit Sonal, Head of Marketing at Qualcomm India
What people are saying
With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, we can run a large language model with up to 30 billion parameters directly on the device.
This offers three key advantages: lower latency, improved privacy because less data leaves the phone, and a more reliable experience in areas with inconsistent network connectivity.
Sources
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