Behind the Silicon S2 Ep. 3: Discover How Snapdragon Delivers a Creative ‘Stroke of Genius’
Behind the Silicon Season 2 is back for episode 3 to give you an inside look at how creatives are using AI to elevate their art.
On our latest episode, “Stroke of Genius,” host and tech journalist Lucy Hedges sets off to Tokyo with a pair of Snapdragon Insiders—content creator Ishita, and smartphone photographer Kohki—to discover how PCs powered by Snapdragon® X Series processors deliver on-device AI that enhances creative workflows.
The first stop on the agenda for Lucy, Ishita, and Kohki is a visit with visual artist and illustrator Ayumi Takahashi. For Ayumi, the benefits of Snapdragon X Series start with the long battery life, lag-free multitasking, and seamless integration of her favorite accessories. But it’s the dedicated Snapdragon Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that allows Ayumi to use AI like a personal production assistant and speed up her workflows.
Watch below, or on YouTube!
Behind the Silicon: S2 Ep 3: Stroke of Genius
Jul 14, 2025 | 10:29
With the help of AI-powered tools in apps like Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher, Ayumi says it’s easier to bring her ideas to life. By running these workloads on-device, Ayumi can generate sketches, test different compositions, and pull objects from photos in a fraction of the time it would take on her own.
“I noticed that there was never lag at all, and I can see how half a second lag would frustrate a lot of creatives and stop the creative workflow,” Kohki said after watching Ayumi’s process. “I think that experience is very important."
Unlocking new creative possibilities with NPU-powered AI
Lucy, Ishita, and Kohki also met with Senior Field Application Engineer Mac Takeuchi (Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Y.K.) to learn how the Snapdragon NPU is shaping the creative tools of tomorrow.
“Because of the NPU, AI workloads can be offloaded from the CPU and GPU,” Mac says. “And because those workloads are run locally, they are quicker, more secure, and consume less power."
Mac says that his team has been hard at work with ecosystem partners to make sure that the apps creators love—like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Design Studio, Luminario, Gigapixel, and DaVinci Resolve—run natively on Snapdragon X Series.
Built for modern creatives
By supporting native apps and offloading work to AI-dedicated chips, Snapdragon is pushing creativity to intelligent new heights.
With on-device AI experiences powered by the Snapdragon NPU, and a dedicated Copilot+ button that gives you quick access to Microsoft’s AI assistant, you have the performance you need laptops powered by Snapdragon to take your ideas to the next level. Discover our full list of Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon that can help you up your productivity.
Check back soon for the next installment of Behind the Silicon. In the meantime, don’t forget our exploration of the thermal performance of Snapdragon processors in Episode 1, and our deep dive into the magic of Snapdragon™ Technology Suite in Episode 2.
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