Meta and Qualcomm team up to usher AI revolution in smartphones
Meta and Qualcomm are embarking on a collaboration that could significantly shift the dynamics in the mobile phone industry, with artificial intelligence playing a crucial role.
8:29 AM EDT, April 23, 2024
Setbacks mark Zuckerberg's foray into the mobile device market. Previously, his company tried collaborating with phone manufacturers to include a special Facebook activation button on their devices, but this initiative failed to yield lasting results.
The HTC First smartphone and its Facebook Home interface, designed for the Android platform, were also unsuccessful.
Despite these setbacks, Meta has thrived by creating mobile applications for third-party smartphones. It boasts some of the most downloaded apps for iOS and Android. It generates substantial revenue through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Nevertheless, Meta is aiming for further growth.
Meta and Qualcomm unite to integrate AI technology with smartphones
Qualcomm has revealed that its forthcoming Snapdragon chips will support Meta's innovative language model, Llama 3. This makes it a formidable rival to OpenAI's GPT models and Google's Gemini.
A significant benefit of Meta's AI technology is that the Snapdragon chips process it directly on the device. This enhances user privacy and operational speed and allows for the use of advanced AI functionalities offline.
Contrastingly, Google's Gemini model, which powers AI features on some Galaxy and Pixel smartphones, relies on both on-device and cloud processing. While basic tasks are handled on the device, more complex functions like summarizing notes or editing photos generatively need a cloud connection.
Processing AI locally offers another perk—freedom from the expenses tied to cloud infrastructure. The costs of cloud services could eventually be transferred to consumers. Samsung has indicated its Galaxy AI service will remain free until the end of 2025, but afterward, it might switch to a subscription model.
Meta could potentially provide phone manufacturers with more enticing terms, such as a one-time sales commission, avoiding ongoing server maintenance fees.
The Llama 3 model is poised to be compatible with the next generation of Snapdragon processors, suggesting that the first smartphones featuring this technology might debut with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 by year's end. Meta also assures that its AI will perform well on various devices, including computers, goggles and VR/AI glasses, and even cars.
