Qualcomm's New Processor Could Bring AI Features to Less Expensive Phones

Qualcomm’s latest processor could bring more power-intensive features like generative artificial intelligence to phones that carry a lower price tag. The Snapdragon 7S Gen 3, announced Tuesday, is touting support for on-device AI features including language translation and noise cancellation.

While Samsung, Google and Motorola all ship phones that support generative AI, many of these are premium devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 that cost $800 or more. This 7S Gen 3 processor is instead targeting phones that are closer to the $500-to-$600 midrange price, and would potentially allow for these features to trickle down to that lower price level. 

For further context, this chip’s predecessor, the Snapdragon 7S Gen 2, currently powers the $550 Motorola Edge phone, and would likely eventually end up in similarly priced devices. Qualcomm announced that the Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 will first appear in a phone from Xiaomi that’s set to be announced next month. Qualcomm Director of Product Management Akash Sharma said in the announcement that Samsung, Sharp and RealMe are also expected to include the processor in upcoming devices set to reach the market in 2025.

It’s ultimately up to phone makers themselves to decide if they would like to include this processor from Qualcomm in their upcoming devices. In the midrange space, this Qualcomm processor would also face competition from MediaTek’s 7300 series, which is used in the $700 Motorola Razr. Other phones like the $400 Samsung Galaxy A35 5G and the $500 Google Pixel 8A run on processors developed in-house, such as Samsung’s Exynos 1380 and Google’s Tensor G3, respectively.