Qualcomm’s new chip is geared toward wearable AI gadgets

Like it or not, there may be more AI wearables on the horizon — or at least Qualcomm seems to think so. Today, the company announced the new Snapdragon Wear Elite chip.

In a press conference, Qualcomm said that it considers the Elite chip to be a “plus-wrist” chip. That is, it will not replace the previous one W5 PlusRather, it is located next to it. The company said it expects the Elite device to appeal to device makers looking to create wearable devices with AI technology such as pendants, studs and smart glasses that may not have displays. (More powerful smart glasses will likely use their own AR chip.)

On top of the upgrade to the 3nm process, the Elite chip will feature an eNPU and a Hexagon NPU for AI processing. The former handles low-power AI functions like keyword recognition and activity detection, while the latter can handle more computationally heavy tasks. Qualcomm says the Hexagon NPU can handle 2 billion on-device parameters, and up to 10 tokens per second.

While the Wear Elite has a similar coprocessor architecture to the W5 Plus, Qualcomm says it improves power efficiency so more functions can be handled by the flagship chip. For example, GPS tracking requires 40 percent less power. In terms of battery, the Elite will support 9V fast charging, which means you’ll get an estimated 50 percent charge in about 10 minutes. Qualcomm also estimates an additional 30 percent “days of use” in overall battery life. This is a vague metric in terms of real-life usage, but it roughly equates to “longer time between charges.”

The Elite also adds support for satellite connectivity, 5G, ultra-wideband, and Bluetooth 6.0. CPU performance has increased by about five times, while the GPU now supports 1080p at 60fps for animation. In addition to Android and Wear OS, Elite will also support Linux to better support startups that may want to create AI-powered pins or pendants on proprietary software.

All of this suggests that device makers aren’t done with AI wearables, despite there being no breakthrough in the pin or pendant categories. A major component maker like Qualcomm is actively creating chipsets that cater to this device category is a sign that there is some kind of demand. Google has spoken publicly about how it is progressing AI ecosystemincluding wearable devices. Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to be considering it Wearable artificial intelligenceAnd the famous, He upset Jony Ive and Sam Altman This may be present in Open AI cards as well.