Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 Brings 8K60 Video and Major AI Camera Upgrades

Qualcomm has announced two new flagship mobile processors at Snapdragon Summit: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. The new chips bring major performance improvements alongside new AI, imaging, and video capabilities for next-generation Android smartphones.

“Today marks a milestone as we introduce not one, but two new flagship mobile platforms, delivering agentic AI experiences that are immediate, personal, and adaptive,” said Chris Patrick, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Handsets at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“As the agentic AI age evolves, our multi-flagship strategy allows us to push the boundaries of what’s possible for mobile while bringing our latest AI innovations to a broader range of premium devices,” Patrick added.

More CPU, GPU, and AI Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile platform yet. It delivers a claimed 13% improvement in CPU performance, a 44% increase in GPU performance, and a 35% increase in NPU performance compared with the previous generation. Qualcomm also claims up to a 40% improvement in GPU power efficiency.

The platform is built around Qualcomm’s latest Oryon CPU, Adreno GPU, and Hexagon NPU. The Oryon CPU is also the first mobile CPU from Qualcomm to reach 5GHz, according to the company.

The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 uses the same advanced platform architecture and brings many of the new AI, imaging, and connectivity features to a broader tier of flagship smartphones.

8K60p and 4K240p Video

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 introduces substantial video capabilities, including 8K video recording at 60fps and 4K recording at up to 240fps for slow-motion footage. Qualcomm positions the platform as capable of supporting an end-to-end mobile video workflow, including capture, editing, grading, and export.

The platform’s imaging system also includes Qualcomm’s Spectra ISP, with significantly higher video throughput than the previous generation. Qualcomm says the platform can process substantially more AI data per pixel, enabling computational photography and video features directly on the smartphone.

AI-powered processing can be used for functions such as video noise reduction, subject segmentation, and real-time skin and sky adjustments. The platform also introduces Qualcomm’s Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec for professional-oriented video workflows.

Support for High-Resolution Cameras

The upgraded Spectra ISP supports up to 320-megapixel image capture. Qualcomm also says the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is the world’s first mobile platform to support triple 64-megapixel cameras with zero shutter lag.

The additional AI processing is designed to compensate for some of the limitations of smartphone photography, where relatively small sensors and compact optics can limit image quality. Qualcomm says its computational imaging technologies can produce more natural-looking photos and cinema-grade video by combining hardware and AI processing.

The platform also introduces Intelligent Pixel Control and the Elite Color Engine, which Qualcomm says improve scene understanding, color, and image quality during photo and video capture.

First Smartphones Using the New Chips

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 are already appearing in the latest flagship smartphones. Xiaomi is using the Extreme version in the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, while the Xiaomi 18 Pro uses the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.

Qualcomm says other manufacturers using the new platforms include Honor, iQOO, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, Redmi, RedMagic, vivo, and ZTE.