Expect better mobile photography from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

(Left) Original photo, (Right) Brilliant shades and colors shine through when using Real-time semantic segmentation to capture photos (Source: Qualcomm)

Aside from getting hardware-based ray tracing capabilities, the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip promises to improve computational photography on upcoming devices. It's packing in what Qualcomm describes as its most advanced artificial intelligence AI engine driven by its upgraded Hexagon Processor. This combo enables phones to perform 4.35 times better when it comes to AI features. It's also the first Qualcomm mobile chip to support INT4, an AI precision format with a 60% performance-to-watt improvement for sustained AI inferencing.

What matters most when it comes to mobile photography is what Qualcomm labels as Snapdragon Sight. This feature will "define a new era of professional quality camera experiences" with its first Cognitive Image Signal Processor (ISP). It allows the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to automatically enhance photos and videos in real time through semantic segmentation. This process uses an AI neural network to make the camera contextually aware of faces, facial features, clothes, skies, hair, and more, so each detail gets customized professional image tuning in real time.

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What to expect from Snapdragon 8 Gen 2's networking capabilities

Source: Qualcomm

As expected, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 packs in a new 5G modem, complete with support for Dual-SIM Dual-Active technology. The new modem is built to make the most out of 5G networks. With dual-SIM support, you can use two SIM cards running on different 5G networks simultaneously. You don't have to run the risk of running out of high-speed internet.

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You can now add music to your Instagram photos

Instagram Reels aren't just a way to add music to your posts. Now, you can add music to photos you add to the feed. Instagram says music plays a "huge part" of expression on the platform. “No matter which format works best to tell your story, you can now add a soundtrack to your favorite photo moments to bring them to life,” the company says.

So, when you upload a photo, you can select a song that will play when a photo is viewed. There should be an "Add Music" option in the interface. You can select songs or browse through Instagram's Trending or For You pages. Once you find the song you like, you can clip the duration (between five and 90 seconds) and then post.

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Qualcomm brings Dynamic Spatial Audio to Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Another one of the new features to expect in Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is an improvement in the audio space. This new chipset will allow for Dynamic Spatial Audio. This means the sound will move with you as you move your head if you're using compatible earbuds, that is. This new addition should be familiar to Samsung or Apple earbud users. 

Dynamic Spatial Audio has also been optimized between the smartphone and earbuds to ensure low motion-to-sound latency. The experience should be more natural or immersive, whether you're listening to music, watching movies, or playing games.

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