Competition in the smartphone processor market is no longer focused solely on CPU or GPU speeds. In September 2026, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with AI serving as the central focus of their development. Qualcomm has positioned AI as a crucial element of the smartphone user experience. The platform is designed to enable various AI capabilities to run directly on the device. AI applications extend to camera features, graphics, gaming, and experiences that understand user context. This development marks a major shift in the smartphone industry. AI processing is no longer solely reliant on cloud-based services; certain tasks can now be performed directly on the device or via edge AI. This reduces the need for an internet connection for specific functions. For users, this means smartphones are increasingly capable of handling tasks such as photo processing, translation, and personalization locally.