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Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon chips bring on device AI to the forefront: Xiaomi and Qualcomm explain what’s next
HT Tech speaks to Gautam Batra of Xiaomi India and Sumit Sonal of Qualcomm India about Snapdragon's new chips, on device AI and India's flagship market.
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Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipsets put on device AI, advanced imaging and power efficiency in focus. Announced at India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 are designed to power the next generation of premium smartphones, including Xiaomi’s latest flagship devices.
At IMC 2026, HT Tech spoke to Gautam Batra, Associate Director at Xiaomi India, and Sumit Sonal, Head of Marketing at Qualcomm India, about what the new chipsets bring to consumers. They also discussed how AI agents could change smartphone usage, and why Xiaomi believes India is ready for more premium devices.
In conversation: Xiaomi and Qualcomm on AI, flagship performance and India
Beyond raw performance
Q1. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series chips are more powerful than last year, which is always expected. What are the new things apart from performance that a user will notice right away with these chips?
Sumit Sonal: One of the first things users notice when they buy a new smartphone is the camera. This time, we have introduced pixel detection, for example, if you are standing in front of a mountain, the chipset can identify you as an individual subject, separate you from the background and track your movement at the pixel level. Earlier, we used semantic segmentation to improve portrait photography. Now, we have evolved this to pixel level subject detection, allowing the ISP to recognise elements such as your face, clothing, and body individually.
The second major development is on device AI agents. With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, we can run a large language model with up to 30 billion parameters directly on the device. This offers three key advantages: lower latency, improved privacy because less data leaves the phone, and a more reliable experience in areas with inconsistent network connectivity.
We have also optimised the NPU, CPU and GPU to work together for these agentic workloads. That is why we have adopted a dual flagship strategy, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 catering to a broader flagship audience and the Extreme variant targeting users who want more from their devices.
AI agents that work on your phone
Q2. Can you give us an example of what sort of AI tasks these new chips can perform locally on device?
Sumit Sonal: Imagine receiving an email inviting you to Bangalore on a particular date. You can invoke an AI agent directly from that email, and it can organise your schedule, look at travel options and suggest available flights.
The agent can help complete this workflow on the device itself. Only information that needs to be retrieved from the internet, such as flight details, requires an online connection. The rest of the processing can happen locally.
There is also a cost advantage. Cloud computing involves processing costs, and as the industry moves towards a token based economy, reducing these costs becomes increasingly important. By processing more tasks locally, we can make AI solutions more scalable and practical for consumers.
Keeping it cool
Q3. How are you going to keep the chips cool during sustained load like gaming?
Sumit Sonal: One of the biggest advantages of the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 platforms, particularly the Extreme variant, is the 2nm manufacturing process. The design work also involved our engineering teams in India, and the technology is now making its way into products.
A 2nm architecture is designed to deliver faster performance while improving power efficiency and battery life. Smartphone manufacturers also implement several measures at the device level to manage thermals.
Gautam Batra: If you look at the Xiaomi 18 Pro, the chipset helps deliver better performance at lower power consumption.
At Xiaomi, we optimise both hardware and software for the particular chipset being used. We also consider consumer feedback and conduct internal trials to evaluate gaming performance. Every year, we see improvements in graphics, AI and other areas.
As demand for AI increases, battery life becomes even more important. The chipset's efficiency, combined with the phone's hardware, cooling system and other technologies, helps us deliver a consistent experience across markets, including in extremely hot or cold conditions.
Two flagship chips, one buying decision
Q4. Since we have two flagship chips now, don't you think it's going to confuse the buyer while choosing between these two chips?
Sumit Sonal: I see it differently. Our biggest advantage is that we are giving consumers more options. Flagship users are now split into two groups.
One group wants the most advanced capabilities, including agentic workloads running directly on the device and demanding video features. These users are willing to pay a premium for the highest level of performance, and we should have an option for them.
The other group wants flagship features, excellent gaming performance and great cameras but does not necessarily need the same amount of computational power.
Moving these consumers to a lower tier of chipset could compromise their overall flagship experience. They still want good thermals, camera performance and reliable performance.
That is why we have introduced two chipsets. It also gives manufacturers greater flexibility to build devices at different price points while retaining the core flagship experience. Consumers can then choose the device that best suits their needs and budget.
India’s role in building Snapdragon
Q5. Qualcomm has a big engineering team in India, so which part of this flagship chip did the Indian team work on?
Sumit Sonal: We have approximately 19,000 people in India and have been present in the country for more than two decades. India is home to our largest engineering centre outside the United States.
Our engineering teams in India work alongside our teams in San Diego to develop technologies. Building a global product involves teams from different parts of the world working together on a common solution.
Our teams in India work on automotive, IoT and smartphone technologies. They also contribute to global platforms, including solutions involving 4G and 5G.
As I mentioned earlier, the 2nm tape out also involved work in India. India is not just a large market for Qualcomm; it is also a major engineering hub contributing to global platforms alongside our teams in San Diego.
Will Xiaomi bring more AI on device?
Q6. Qualcomm's latest chips come with powerful AI performance. Will Xiaomi use this performance to run some AI features locally on the device?
Gautam Batra: With the Xiaomi 18 series, we are not sharing many more details about the specific AI features at the moment.
For Xiaomi, the focus is not just on allowing users to experiment with AI. We also want to deliver a great photography experience and ensure that the other aspects of the phone work just as well.
When we use Qualcomm's mobile platform, the objective is to deliver an overall experience, including flagship performance, graphics and everything consumers expect from their devices over the long term.
People might buy a new smartphone to try AI agents and other features, but what they ultimately need is a reliable product that consistently gets things done.
AI is an important part of Android, and we are looking at both hardware and software to make the most of these advancements. Google is moving towards Gemini as a central part of its assistant experience, and the Xiaomi 18 series has a dedicated AI button, according to the interview.
It is still too early to reveal the specific AI features that will be available on the Xiaomi 18 series. However, in terms of overall performance and the experience delivered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 on the Xiaomi 18 Pro, I think it is a fantastic combination.
Xiaomi’s India flagship strategy
Q7. Xiaomi's flagship strategy is global. How does India fit into it? How does Xiaomi decide which phones to bring to India and which ones to skip, given that we didn't get the Xiaomi 17 Pro in India?
Gautam Batra: India is an important market for Xiaomi. When we announced the Xiaomi 17 Pro last year, we saw incredible sales and interest across the market. We also saw significant coverage from global key opinion leaders and media outlets, creating a level of attention that exceeded our expectations.
When we innovate and create something unique, we also want to test and perfect that experience in our home market. We saw strong demand for the product, particularly for its photography capabilities, and wanted to bring more of that experience to consumers.
India has enormous potential to become a more premium and aspirational market, and consumers are increasingly ready for advanced products. That is why we are bringing more premium devices to India.
If you look beyond smartphones at products such as televisions and other ecosystem devices, you will see that we are expanding our portfolio. We should not automatically assume that a product should not come to India.
As one of the world's largest ecosystem companies, we want to bring more products to consumers here. You will see more products from Xiaomi coming to the Indian market over.
So, to answer your question about whether we are being selective or going all in, we are going all in.
