BTEX 2024: How Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite Is Bringing AI to the Device Level
As next-generation laptops need the power to run AI applications at the device level, Qualcomm’s latest chip series can help provide that, and more.
Qualcomm's going to look very different than how you've known us in the past
– Kyle Houser, Head of Global Commercial Channel, Qualcomm, presenting at CDW’s Business Technology Expo (BTEX) 2024 event.
“For the past 35 years, you've known us as a company of inventors and innovators when it comes to things like 5G or the smartphone, or more recently automotive. And we think that we have an opportunity to disrupt another industry.”
How AI has impacted the next generation of PCs
“I think it's important to understand first and foremost what's happening in the industry when we think about the PC,” Houser said. “There's been other big OEM brands out there that have made a change from X86 to other architectures and users notice a couple things. They're getting better battery life, they're getting better performance and they're considering switching brands to get those two things in their PC.
“Then you add AI on top of that and AI has the potential to further impact battery life, performance or be an enabler for your workforce in enhancing productivity, giving your employees more time to focus on tasks that matter.
“But you can't think about performance, battery life or AI independently. Because if you solve for one of those pain points or challenges without thinking about the others, your users are going to suffer in terms of their performance.”
End users need AI, concurrency and battery life – how Snapdragon X Elite can help
With Snapdragon X Elite chips in their PCs, Houser said users can benefit from “being able to run team meetings twice as long without seeking out an outlet, being able to make decisions based on the fact that it's built for AI on the device, without having to go up to the cloud, and meeting all the security and privacy requirements that you have.”
Another key component is the app ecosystem. “We've been working behind the scenes with all the OEMs in our ecosystem to make sure that all of the apps that you know and love are ready for Snapdragon X Elite and the Snapdragon X series of products,” said Houser.
When it comes to battery life, Houser said “Think about how you scale a thousand devices across an office while not having to chase an outlet one third of the time that you currently do. It just enables a whole other level of productivity. And it provides an opportunity for you to re-evaluate, how can we be more productive?”
How AI at the device level changes the game
“Say I want to summarize this presentation and get a readout, or I want to take a document, layer it on top of a spreadsheet and build it into something I could present to you all. Every time you have to go out to the cloud, that takes time, that takes resources and it slows your employees down,” Houser said.
Having AI at the device level can also provide a more consistent experience for remote workers. “If I'm in my home office and I get used to using cloud-based AI workflows, and then I hop on the plane and the Wi-Fi's down and I can't work the same way, I'm going to grow increasingly frustrated with that PC experience. By bringing some of those core experiences on the device, you're able to improve employee satisfaction, productivity and save them time.”
Security is also a key factor that comes into play. With AI on the PC, “There's no reason to leave the device. For all of those experiences, being able to look at data stored on your device, translate it into a presentation, recall something you've been thinking about and put that into a business strategy where there may be sensitive information… keeping it on device is a great way for you to enhance the security of your users, wherever they may be working.”
Concluding his presentation, Houser said, “We built the Snapdragon X Series of products from the ground up with AI in mind, with our core mobile beliefs and experience of designing something that can be powerful and efficient, and with the ability to run the apps that you know and love today, within the security protocols of your organization, and deliver an experience that employees will love.”