The 10th anniversary of Snapdragon Summit 2025 was filled with nonstop excitement, from major product announcements to forward-looking keynotes. If one thing was clear, it’s that Snapdragon Insiders are psyched to get their hands on the new technology and put its power to the test. Topping it all off on Day 2 was the premiere of Behind the Silicon Season 2, Episode 5: Innovation That Never Sleeps.  

The Behind the Silicon series pulls back the curtain on what it takes to build Snapdragon platforms that power the world’s favorite devices. This time, host and journalist Lucy Hedges takes viewers to New York City—the city that never sleeps (because Snapdragon innovation never sleeps either). Joining her are Snapdragon Insiders Adam, a social media tech reviewer, and Michael, a product reviewer and analyst.

The trio stopped by creator Grace Wells’ studio to see how devices powered by Snapdragon work together to seamlessly capture and edit cinematic content. They also got exclusive details on the 3rd Gen Qualcomm® Oryon™ CPU, the platform powering the Snapdragon ® 8 Elite Gen 5 mobile platform, and Snapdragon X2 Elite platform for PC, both just announced at Snapdragon Summit.

Watch the full episode below to see the story unfold, then keep scrolling as we journey even deeper, unpacking the tech and illuminating details you won’t find anywhere else.

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Inside Grace’s Creative Playground

The first stop of the day was to the compact yet mighty New York studio of content creator Grace Wells, whose cinematic campaigns have captivated audiences worldwide. Grace welcomed our team to watch her behind-the-scenes creative process.

For this project, she set out to create a pro-grade commercial featuring her go-to devices powered by Snapdragon — the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge— putting the two to the test by using the devices to make the video itself.

Power in your pocket, precision at your fingertips

With the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, it’s like Grace had a film crew right in her pocket. Powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, it boasts 4K HDR capture, super steady shots, and focus tracking. It’s a pro-level camera that also makes filming different shots totally seamless. 

After nailing the shot, Grace used Quick Share to instantly beam her footage to the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge. And here's where the Snapdragon X Elite processor shines: editing was lightning-fast, fluid, and frustration-free. Just like that, Grace had her footage edited and ready to share.

Meet the 3rd Gen Qualcomm Oryon CPU, powering the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 platforms

After wrapping in the studio, Lucy took the team across town to meet up with Qualcomm Technologies’ Senior Product Manager, Manju Varma, to unveil something big: the 3rd Gen Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU.

This next-generation CPU fuels both the newly announced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for mobile and Snapdragon X2 Elite for PC, delivering ultra-high performance and exceptional power efficiency. 

“We've made design enhancements from the ground up to scale on performance across the board,” Manju said. “Our technology scales workloads more efficiently. This means faster app launches, smoother multitasking, and just overall better responsiveness.” 

This upgrade builds on a legacy of innovation. The 1st generation powered the Snapdragon X Series platforms for PC, the 2nd drove the Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, and now as an industry-first, the 3rd generation Oryon CPU fuels both. 

Delivering the world’s fastest mobile CPU and the fastest CPU in its class for PC, it unlocks new possibilities for creators, empowering them to edit high‑resolution video on their phone or run desktop‑class creative software on their laptop without compromise, wherever inspiration strikes.

Power meets creative possibilities 

For creators like Adam, Michael, and Grace, the power of the 3rd Gen Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU isn’t just about raw performance (which it has plenty of), it’s about removing friction from the creative process. Faster rendering means more time to refine ideas. Smarter AI means tools anticipate their needs. And better power efficiency means staying unplugged for longer without sacrificing performance.

Tune in to what’s next.

An exclusive first-look of Behind the Silicon S2 E5 was screened on Day 2 of Snapdragon Summit, giving Snapdragon Insiders the chance to watch together, react in real time, and celebrate as a community. But the journey doesn’t end there. Check out past episodes from Season 2 and our full recap of Snapdragon Summit 2025. 

Want to dive even deeper into the tech? You can catch all the Snapdragon Summit 2025 livestream playbacks and behind-the-scenes content, available now, and join the buzz on Discord.