The AI-powered smartphone and what it means for developers - TechHQ

The unveiling of Qualcomm's new flagship chip -- the Snapdragon 888 -- this week for Android smartphones underlines just how big a role artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities will play in upcoming smartphones. Like how the recent iPhone 12 launch unpacked the tiny transistors and the AI advantages of Apple's new A14 Bionic chip – promising nearly 30% uptick in CPU, GPU, and AI-powered sensors performances – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is the chipmaker's first 5-nanometer chip. The smaller transistors on these 5nm chips mean that performance gains are boosted up to 35% higher than previous generations, and the 888 also has its 5G modem built into it rather than a separate component in previous chips – which means that connectivity is also being enhanced alongside the processing and graphical capabilities. The combination of 5G coverage and AI-powered sensor input should be no slouch for the next-generation of topline Android devices, but AI will not just be enhancing the camera and other sensors. "Qualcomm's addition of a large AI accelerator and TinyML to its next-generation 5G mobile platform is a game-changer for 5G mobile devices," said Lian Jye Su, the principal analyst at tech market advisory firm, ABI Research.