Xiaomi will be the first phone maker to release a device with the newly announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, the device is not available from us for the time being.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 announcement is still echoing in the hallways, and Xiaomi has already announced that it has integrated the chipset into its latest device. Anyone who lives in China can pre-order the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro now. The device will probably come to us at a later date.

AI functionality

The announcement fleshes out what Qualcomm has already announced. Thanks to the device we see what is effectively possible. For example, Xiaomi relies on AI functionality in its (new) Android skin. Effective AI models run on the device itself. This is one of the applications that Qualcomm itself presented when the chip was launched. With these models, the device can summarize web pages or create transcripts of your video conference. Because this happens on your device, there are inherently fewer security and privacy concerns.

Less useful, but perhaps more appealing: your Xiaomi phone will soon be able to create AI portraits of you via the NPU in the Snapdragon. Think about vacation photos in countries you’ve never been to.

The phone shows that the focus on AI when introducing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was not entirely unwarranted. Manufacturers appear to be effectively leveraging the NPU’s capabilities for features that only time will tell whether they’re useful, scary, or just a gimmick.