Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Chipset Introduces AI-Powered Camera Enhancements for Android Phones

Did Qualcomm just kill the ring light? Future Android phones could let you add a virtual, moveable light source to video calls

Picture the scene: you jump on an important work call, fresh-faced and ready to confidently deliver your trademark "nothing from me" line, only to discover that the light (or lack thereof) in your work-from-home office has left you looking less like a serious businessperson and more like a seedy Omegle user from 2010. Don't worry - we've all been there. Thankfully, Qualcomm knows we've all been there, which is why the American semiconductor giant has seen fit to equip its newly announced Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chipset with an AI-powered, real-time lighting tool that could banish terrible video call lighting to the annals of internet history. AI Portrait Video Re-lighting lets you add a virtual, moveable light source that maps to the contours of your face to better illuminate it in heavily backlit environments. This lighting can be adjusted manually, or you can let your phone's AI do the work for you, and the entire process takes place on-device, with no added latency. Wait a minute, did Qualcomm just kill the ring light? Qualcomm debuted the new tool at Snapdragon Summit 2024, demonstrating its potential in a nameless dummy phone, though we could conceivably see AI Portrait Video Re-lighting feature (albeit with a different name) in some of the best Android phones of 2025 - think the much rumored Samsung Galaxy S25, OnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and so on. That's because all of those upcoming flagship phones are expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, meaning their respective OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will have the option of implementing this new AI technology as they see fit. Indeed, as Qualcomm's Senior Director of Product Management, Judd Heape, confirmed to TechRadar in a roundtable interview at Snapdragon Summit (with reference to Limitless Segmentation, another Snapdragon 8 Elite-specific camera feature): "Limitless Segmentation is embedded into the [Snapdragon 8 Elite] camera framework - it's shipping with the baseline camera. So, it will be up to OEMs as to how they integrate it [and other AI features] into the main products." Limitless Segmentation segments an image into over 250 layers, optimizing and enhancing each layer (including faces, hair, clothing, objects, and backgrounds) in the process, so presumably Qualcomm's AI Portrait Video Re-lighting technology could be applied to still portraits, too. Might we see a "Portraits by Qualcomm" label added to images taken with the best Samsung phones in the near future? It's certainly a possibility. In any case, we're glad to see Qualcomm using the power of its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset to develop practical generative AI tools like this one. Sure, bespoke emoji creators are great - but they're not going to help you save face when your video call lighting just ain't it.

4 ways Android cameras are about to get better, thanks to Qualcomm - even for dogs

The chipset in your smartphone does much more than power speed, efficiency, and cool features -- it plays a critical role in the performance of all your phone's functions, including photography. With Qualcomm's latest mobile platform, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the company aims to enhance how you interact with your camera. Whether you're setting up a video call, snapping a photo, recording a video, or capturing moments with your furry friend, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite introduces new, enhanced mobile photography experiences. Also: Qualcomm's new chipset that will power flagship Android phones makes the iPhone seem outdated Since many Android phones utilize Qualcomm's latest mobile platforms, it's likely that many of the new Android phones launching over the next year, including the latest from Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola, will feature not only this chipset but also some of the enhanced photo-taking capabilities it supports. I had the opportunity to demo most of them at Snapdragon Summit and rounded up the features you can expect, ranked by how helpful I think they will be when they are ready to launch. If you are familiar with Google's Magic Eraser, a feature that allows you to wipe out unwanted subjects in an image with a quick tap, Video Object Eraser is very similar to that for video. Users can swipe out an object and select "delete" to declutter the background or remove the photobomber. Also: How to turn your old Android phone into a security or pet camera One of the biggest advantages is that it happens on device, making the typically cumbersome process quicker and circumventing the cloud, which keeps your video more private. When demoing the feature, I found that it wasn't entirely flushed out yet, but it clearly had promise. Like the feature above, AI Keeper is a photo-editing feature that ensures that what ends up in your shot is exactly what you want. With the feature, you can select the subjects of your photo you want to keep, and then it automatically eliminates everything else. The feature is simple to use, has no frills, and worked well in the demo. If you have a pet, you know it is really difficult to resist the urge to take pictures of their cute faces every day, all day. However, as cute as they are, it can be hard to get a good picture because of how quickly and unpredictably they move. That's where this feature can shine. When your phone is pointed at your pet and the pet looks at the camera, Snapgdragon automatically takes a burst and then picks the best shot. There is also a pet hair enhancement feature to make sure your pet looks its best. Whether you are casually FaceTiming a friend or on a business video call, looking your best on a call matters. However, there are only so many factors you can control, and important variables like lighting are often unpredictable. With Snapdragon 8 Elite's real-time AI Relighting feature, you have more control by adjusting a virtual movable light source and changing the hue. This was another simple feature that worked as simply as described, but it got the intended job done.