As Qualcomm unveils new AI Chips for smartphones and laptops, CEO Cristiano Amon sets course to make company an ecosystem player

Those devices, whether it’s a smartwatch, earbuds, or smart glasses, are no longer just accessories that extend the functionality of the phone. They are now engaging directly with the AI agent, and that changes everything,” Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said during an event in Hawaii.

The latest version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon lineup will feature its in-house Oryon processor design.

New chips for smartphones, PCs

During its Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii, the San Diego-based company unveiled more powerful processors for smartphones and laptops, enabling devices to take advantage of new artificial intelligence tools. The latest version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon lineup will feature its in-house Oryon processor design.

Its new mobile chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is built on a 3nm process by TSMC and features Qualcomm’s in-house Oryon CPU, which the company claims delivers 20 percent better performance, resulting in faster app launches. It also includes an upgraded Adreno GPU for improved graphics. Qualcomm says the new chip is the world’s fastest mobile processor. The company said Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, among several others, will use the new chip “in the coming days.”

Qualcomm also announced its next-generation of PC processors: the Snapdragon X Elite 2 and Elite 2 Extreme as it ramps up its push into the AI PC space, taking on Intel, AMD, and Apple. The new processors employ the third-gen Oryon CPU with up to 18 cores, six more than their predecessors. Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X Elite Extreme has “up to 75 percent faster CPU performance than competition at ISO power,” referring to comparing two chips when they are consuming the same amount of power.

Qualcomm says the new PC chips may not arrive until the first quarter of 2026, but expect a number of major PC makers to adopt Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite series chips.

The chips also come with improved graphics performance as both used new Adreno GPU architecture. Qualcomm says power efficiency has improved by 2.3X, which means the laptops-powered by these processor can scale up performance when it’s needed, be it in games or creative applications.

The company claims the new processors come with a powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 80 TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second) of on-device AI processing performance. Qualcomm boasts “multi-day” battery life on these new chips.

Qualcomm says the new PC chips may not arrive until the first quarter of 2026, but expect a number of major PC makers to adopt Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite series chips.

While Qualcomm remains the largest supplier of mobile phone chips, the company has, in recent years, expanded into processors for personal computers, automobiles, smartwatches, wireless earbuds, and emerging segments such as smart glasses. For example, Meta’s popular Ray-Ban smart glasses are powered by a Qualcomm chip.

“AI is the new UI”

At its Hawaii event, Qualcomm outlined how it plans to capitalize on electronics makers’ desire to not only integrate artificial intelligence into their devices, but also to create an ecosystem where all products communicate with each other, powered by the company’s technologies.

Amon sees AI agents, where a user types a prompt and the tool provides a response, suggests actions, or completes tasks, as central to applications, system architecture, and even silicon design.

“AI is the new UI,” he said. “The user interface has now become human-centric. It adapts to you and understands your context – where you are, what you are doing.”

“The interesting thing is the edge,” he continued. “It’s no longer just important to run certain things on your phone or PC — it’s now a requirement. The UI needs to be located where the humans are. That’s how we think about the future of Snapdragon.

In the age of AI, Snapdragon delivers performance where you need it, where you are. And that’s why the UI is going to fundamentally change – because AI is changing what the UI is.”

Qualcomm has traditionally been seen as a chip company, but CEO Cristiano Amon has long been working to shift that perception, emphasizing how the company has evolved into a solutions provider.

For Qualcomm, its biggest revenue driver still comes from the chips that power smartphones made by companies like Samsung and Xiaomi. However, while smartphones are evolving, they remain a central part of the broader ecosystem, much like Alphabet’s Google, which powers the majority of smartphones through its Android operating system.

Qualcomm’s goal is to design chips and solutions not just for smartphones, but for all types of personal electronic,  including laptops, cars, earbuds, and smart glasses that everyday consumers use. If a consumer chooses a Qualcomm-powered smartphone or laptop, the devices are designed to work seamlessly together, similar to the experience Apple provides.

However, unlike Apple, which is a vertically integrated company, Qualcomm aims to achieve this seamless experience through horizontal platforms, working in partnership with companies like Samsung and Google.

Big bets on auto, PCs

Qualcomm has traditionally been seen as a chip company, but CEO Cristiano Amon has long been working to shift that perception, emphasizing how the company has evolved into a solutions provider. It is now seeking opportunities beyond connectivity, which has historically been its core expertise and remains a key source of revenue. Qualcomm is actively diversifying into new areas such as automotive, data center semiconductors, and personal computers.

As part of that effort, Qualcomm is developing technology for various parts of the car and recently announced plans to license its self-driving technology, developed in collaboration with BMW, to other automakers. Its automotive unit brought in in nearly $1 billion in the June quarter and grew 21 per cent year-on-year. The company has previously said it expects automotive revenue to grow to $8 billion by its 2029 fiscal year.

“If you look at Qualcomm’s business model, it has definitely diversified a lot. But I think we also need to look at the smartphone space itself and consider how much opportunity still exists for growth within it.

Qualcomm is the leading high-end chip provider, competing directly with Apple, and holds a dominant position in that segment. There’s also some market share further down the price tiers, where Qualcomm already has a strong presence. So, as it comes under more pressure, Qualcomm’s option is to grow elsewhere, which means looking for new segments,”
 Runar Bjorhovde, analyst at Canalys, told indianexpress.com

Qualcomm not only has high hopes for its automotive business, but also aims to establish itself as a dominant player in personal computers. Although it is still a relatively new entrant in the PC market, the company aims to challenge Apple, AMD, and especially Intel, which is currently facing mounting challenges.

The company’s Snapdragon X series chips are built on architecture from British chip designer Arm, enabling the processors to run complex applications with high energy efficiency, a key factor in extending battery life on laptops. These chips can also handle certain AI tasks without requiring an internet connection. Microsoft refers to these devices as Copilot+ PCs.

Analysts like Ishan Dutt, Omdia’s Research Director for PC and Tablet Research, believe that when Qualcomm entered the PC market, there were high expectations. While the company’s chips delivered better efficiency and long battery life, repositioning itself from a smartphone-focused brand to a credible player in the PC space will take time.

“While there is some market interest in Windows on Arm, the real hurdle has been brand recognition, especially among retailers and B2B channel partners in the Windows commercial ecosystem, many of whom are unfamiliar with Snapdragon. This has made the go-to-market and brand-building effort particularly difficult,” Dutt said. “I think next year that might change.”

The writer is in Maui, Hawaii attending the Snapdragon summit on the invitation of Qualcomm India.