Qualcomm is running a full AI image model on an Android phone

Qualcomm is running a fascinating demo of Stable Diffusion on a standard cellphone, a feat the happens completely offline and is surprisingly fast.

The AI tool, called Stable Diffusion, can create pictures in a matter of seconds. In this case, the researchers ask for a fluffy cat in warrior armor and the tool created a 512×512 image in about 15 seconds.

The phone is running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. For purposes of the demo, the phone is completely disconnected from the network and the model itself runs in memory. This means the entire model – gigabytes of information – is contained on the phone itself.

John Biggs

John Biggs is an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and maker. He spent fifteen years as an editor for Gizmodo, CrunchGear, and TechCrunch and has a deep background in hardware startups, 3D printing, and blockchain. His work has appeared in Men’s Health, Wired, and the New York Times.

View all posts by John Biggs →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *