DEAL Galaxy S24 FE, Galaxy Watch 7. Subscribe today and be the first to learn about One 7 beta!

SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.

News For You
News For You
Notifications

Snapdragon 8 Elite’s new AI ISP unlocks a new dimension in mobile photography

General
By 

Last updated: October 21st, 2024 at 21:05 UTC+02:00

There’s a lot that Qualcomm’s new chipset improves upon but what a lot of people were particularly interested in were the improvements made to the camera capabilities. It’s safe to say that the Snapdragon 8 Elite is exceeding expectations in this department, as it brings AI photography features, that were previously available only in the cloud, on-device.

Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered devices will offer unprecedented AI-powered photography features as the mobile platform features a brand new AI ISP that has been built from the ground up to work with the chipset’s Hexagon NPU at a fundamental level, unlocking a new dimension in power and functionality.

AI is now deeply rooted in the image processing pipeline

The pixel throughput has been increased by 35% to 4.3GP/s with the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s new AI ISP. The chipset is also capable of recording from three 48-megapixel sensors simultaneously at 30fps, from a singular sensor of up to 108-megapixel at 30 fps, as well as photo capture from up to 320-megapixel sensors.

Fundamental changes have also been made to how images are processed on the device. In the past, the ISP would process the image first and then send it to the Hexagon NPU for post-processing. The Snapdragon 8 Elite’s overhauled Hexagon Direct Link allows the NPU to directly access the native raw sensor data for the first time ever, making it possible to implement real-time AI-based enhancements at 4K 60fps. This also provides greater flexibility for device manufacturers to implement their own algorithms at any stage in the pipeline.

Another benefit of this is that AI assistants will now be able to see what you see through the camera, both the live view and on-demand, allowing you to interact and ask questions about the objects through the camera live view, with the processing happening on-device.

Devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite will deliver improved image quality courtesy of the chipset’s features like Limitless Segmentation, which has the capability to segment an image into more than 250 layers for more accurate optimization and real-time Insight AI, which is a collection of AI algorithms that enhance natural skin and sky tones even in challenging lighting conditions.

AI fairy dust has also been sprinkled on the three most important aspects of mobile photography, auto-focus, auto-exposure, and auto-white balance. Features like Video Object Eraser, previously available only on the cloud, will now run on-device, allowing you to remove unwanted elements from video clips securely on your smartphone or tablet.

Mobile device manufacturers will be able to tap into these Snapdragon 8 Elite enhancements and complement them with their own image processing algorithms and AI features to deliver an enhanced user experience. It’s not going to be a long wait until we see these features in action on consumer devices as many Qualcomm partners, including Samsung, are due to launch Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered devices in the coming weeks.

Disclaimer: Qualcomm is hosting a large group of international media for the Snapdragon Summit 2024 from October 21-23 in Hawaii, including SamMobile. All opinions and analyses remain our own with Qualcomm receiving no advance preview or exercising any control over our coverage.

General QualcommSnapdragon 8 EliteSnapdragon Summit 2024
Galaxy AI summarized

Scroll for more related content
News For You

You might also like

Confirmed: Samsung will use Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy S25 series

Confirmed: Samsung will use Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy S25 series

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset at the Snapdragon Summit 2024 in Hawaii, and as expected, it's an impressive platform that delivers incredible advancements for mobile performance, gaming, photography, and artificial intelligence. Mobile device manufacturers will now be using this chipset to bring new flagship devices to the market. It has now been […]

  • By Adnan Farooqui
  • 4 mins ago
Snapdragon 8 Elite debuts custom Oryon cores for unmatched power and AI performance

Snapdragon 8 Elite debuts custom Oryon cores for unmatched power and AI performance

Qualcomm said at the Snapdragon Summit last year that it would bring the Snapdragon X Elite's bonkers custom Oryon cores to mobile in 2024. Today, at Snapdragon Summit 2024, it has followed through on that promise. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm's latest flagship chipset, and as promised, it features the custom Oryon cores, bringing […]

  • By Adnan Farooqui
  • 5 mins ago
TM Roh to negotiate for Galaxy S25 chip at Snapdragon Summit 2024

TM Roh to negotiate for Galaxy S25 chip at Snapdragon Summit 2024

US-based chipmaker Qualcomm will host its annual chip-revealing event, Snapdragon Summit, in Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago next week. Samsung Mobile eXperience president TM Roh will reportedly attend the event and meet with Qualcomm leadership to discuss various facets of their ongoing collaboration. The Snapdragon Summit 2024 will be hosted for three days from October […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 4 days ago
One UI 7 said to be biggest improvement in Samsung’s history

One UI 7 said to be biggest improvement in Samsung’s history

Samsung was expected to release the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 beta update in late July 2024, but it was delayed. It still hasn't been released, and the word is that the update won't be released for quite some time. However, this delay could be a boon for all Samsung users, as One UI 7.0 […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 5 days ago
Reports claim conflicting things about Galaxy S25 chipset

Reports claim conflicting things about Galaxy S25 chipset

A few months ago, Samsung officially named the Exynos 2500, making us believe the chip will be used in at least some Galaxy S25 series devices. However, some reports claim that Samsung could use Snapdragon chips globally, while others say it could use MediaTek chips instead. It is all very confusing right now. It is […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 6 days ago
Did Google ruin Samsung’s Galaxy S25 MediaTek surprise?

Did Google ruin Samsung’s Galaxy S25 MediaTek surprise?

Over the past few months, rumors have suggested that Samsung could use a MediaTek chip in some of the Galaxy S25 models. While we may have laughed these rumors off a few months back, Samsung's decision to replace Snapdragon with MediaTek on its latest flagship tablet lineup gave us pause. And it looks like Google […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 2 weeks ago