Qualcomm's latest flagship mobile platform, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: an in-depth account of its development

“A decade ago, it would have been impossible for you to envision your phone’s current capabilities. And it all begins with the chip. When you unlock that capability, all the applications, use cases, and experiences start to emerge. Once that capability is unlocked, people become creative about what they can do with it,” says Cindy Lei, Qualcomm's director of product management, emphasizing the reason silicon serves as a smartphone’s super brain and why it’s even more crucial in the AI era.

According to Lei, who was at the helm of development for Qualcomm’s new system-on-a-chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (which was unveiled this week at an event in Hawaii), designing a chip is growing more complicated, particularly now that there are far more processes happening within the silicon. She clarifies that due to the significant advancements in smartphones and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, customisation now occurs at a much more profound level.