Qualcomm overnight launched its latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which is expected to be standard on flagship Android-powered phones in 2024.

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

US chip giant Qualcomm has launched a new high-end smartphone chipset overnight, and Nio (NYSE: NIO) will be one of the first Chinese companies to use it.

Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC (system-on-chip), which is expected to become the standard for flagship Android-powered phones in 2024, at the Snapdragon Summit on October 24 in Hawaii.

Qualcomm later mentioned in a Chinese-language press release the first phone makers that will use the processor, and Nio is one of them.

As the SoC leader for Android's flagship smartphones, Qualcomm's new platform will be widely adopted on devices from OEMs and smartphone brands around the world, including Asus, Honor, iQOO, Meizu, Nio, Nubia, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Redmi, Red Magic, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE, the release reads.

Notably, Nio is the only car company in the list, while the others all have strong smartphone businesses.

Nio is excited about the release of the third-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, which the company will utilize with Qualcomm to create delightful lifestyles for its users, said Shen Feng, executive vice president and chairman of the quality management committee of the electric vehicle (EV) maker.

The first-generation Nio Phone powered by the Snapdragon mobile platform was widely praised by users after its launch, Shen said.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is based on the Qualcomm Kryo 64-bit architecture and uses a 4 nm process with main processor cores clocked at up to 3.3 GHz.

Qualcomm said the new chipset delivers a 30 percent increase in performance and a 20 percent improvement in power efficiency over its predecessor.

Nio, an EV maker, officially launched its first phone model on September 21, hoping to enhance the appeal of its vehicles by offering a seamless phone-vehicle experience.

The Nio Phone starts at 6,499 yuan ($890) and is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor as this year's mainstream period Android phones.

The Nio Phone offers an action button that allows users to quickly launch more than 30 functions related to vehicle control. This includes controlling vehicle functions such as adjusting the temperature and switching a seat massage on and off.

The Nio Phone's computing power can be shared to Nio vehicles and display a virtual phone on the vehicle's center screen and use apps installed in the Nio Phone.

At the end of last year, Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li said in an interview with local media that the Nio phone is not meant to compete with Huawei or Xiaomi, and that if it can get half of Nio's users to buy the device, it will have reached its desired goal.

Nio delivered 15,641 vehicles in September, with cumulative deliveries at the end of September standing at 399,549 units.

($1 = RMB 7.3115)

Nio launches 1st smartphone: Starts at $890, connects seamlessly with vehicle cockpit