On-device AI is bringing better performance to more budget smartphones, one chipset at a time

Artificial Intelligence (AI) requires a certain minimum level of processing power. But on-device AI even more so. Cloud-based AI systems have the advantage of having the processing done remotely, which means that users have to deal with the disadvantage of needing an Internet connection to use those. ChatGPT and Copilot are examples of cloud AI systems.

Which is why it isn’t something you see in low-cost devices. The more powerful the processor, the more capable the device is for making AI happen. On-device AI is also known as edge AI or edge computing. Basically, it means that the AI processing is done locally on the device instead of on cloud servers over an Internet connection.

Why on-device AI is vital

The benefits of on-device AI are straightforward. For one, it does not require an Internet connection and so are functional at all times, regardless of the quality of the Internet connection and regardless of whether there is even a connection at all. Because all of the processing happens locally, they also deliver faster processing and response times. This will produce better overall user experience.

Processing tasks locally means that for smartphones and devices to have on-device AI, they need to be equipped with powerful processors that can handle those tasks efficiently and speedily. This is why only more powerful devices have this feature.

Example applications of on-device AI systems

Examples of the applications of on-device AI include the following:

Camera enhancements: Phone brands use AI to enhance photos, improve scene recognition, night mode, and other. For example, Google’s new Pixel Studio image generation app uses on-device AI for certain features.

Real-time language translation: Smartphones are able to carry out real-time translation from one language to another because of on-device AI.

Voice assistants: Siri, Google Assistant, Bixby and others like them, all use on-device AI.

Battery management: AI is often used to optimize battery usage by matching consumption with the usage patterns of the device owner.

There are more applications that cover health monitoring, personalized recommendations, facial recognition, and more.

Bringing on-device AI to lower price points

Powerful chips powering premium flagship smartphones and devices make it possible to provide offline AI systems to those devices. But those chips and hence the devices they power cost a fortune. Lower cost chips are the key to delivering better AI to more people. This will result in offline AI being available on more mid-range smartphones and eventually also entry-level Android phones.

In August 20204, Qualcomm announced its most affordable chipset that supports on-device AI, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, and are marketing it as bringing “remarkable AI experiences to more affordable smartphones”. The “s” segment chipsets from Qualcomm are more budget inclined versions of the regular chipsets. What are its capabilities?

If you are into the technical jargon, Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 supports generative AI capabilities like LLMs like Baichuan-7B, Llama 2 at 1B, and others. The non-technical version is that smartphones using this chipset will be able to process advanced AI tasks offline.

MediaTek’s Dimensity 8200 chipset is comparable to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is a budget version of. The 8200 is a bit more powerful than the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, actually. We will be expecting to see MediaTek announce and launch a chipset that sits below the Dimensity 8200 soon enough.

In the meantime, what price point should you expect to see smartphones with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip? We can get a fair picture by looking at the current crop of Snapdragon 7 gen 3 devices and making an educated estimate. A current device with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is the Motorola Edge 50 Pro ($460). We can expect smartphones with Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 to cost $400 and lower.

$400 is a great price point to see smartphones with offline generative AI systems. The first Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 smartphone will be from Xiaomi and should hit the market within a month of Qualcomm’s announcement. Other brands like Samsung, Realme, and Sharp will also make use of this chip in upcoming devices.