- Bryan Tan
Snapdragon Summit 2022: Beyond Mobile!
Another day, another keynote, it's day 2 of the Snapdragon Summit 2022 and here's everything, 'simplified'.
Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1
The first of its kind, the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 is Qualcomm's latest venture into XR (extended reality). Built from the ground up in collaboration with OEM brands like PICO, Lenovo and Niantic, the AR2 is engineered to perform well while keeping its physical footprint as small as possible.
It uses a multi-chip architecture which distributes the data processing between chips while offloading the rest to a PC or a compatible host device, it can deliver 2.5x more performance in AI while occupying a 40% smaller PCB footprint compared to their XR2-powered Wireless AR Smart Viewer Reference Design. The chipset also supports the new Wi-Fi 7 standard.
Not only that, but it also consumes 50% less power keeping the power draw under 1W, which, for a pair of AR glasses typically at the mercy of thermals, sounds like an awe-inspiring achievement.
Developers will also be able to access the Snapdragon Spaces platform for AR/VR development, bridging the hardware and software experience together.
Qualcomm S5 and S3 Gen 2
Collectively part of the Snapdragon Sound experience, Qualcomm has also refreshed their S5 and S3 Sound Platforms, geared towards audio products like speakers and earbuds. Aside from being able to tap on the same Snapdragon Sound updates mentioned in our 8 Gen 2 updates, it also supports third-gen Qualcomm Adaptive ANC and Bluetooth LE Audio.
Products adopting the S5 and S3 Gen 2 platforms are expected to drop in the second half of 2023.
Snapdragon W5 and W5+ Gen 1
Snapdragon also unveiled its newest lineup of chips for the wearable crowd, claiming a 50% reduction in power consumption and double the performance in a smaller footprint. Qualcomm has also worked with several apps and brands to optimise the experience for upcoming smartwatches, the first in line being Oppo Watch 3 Pro.
Snapdragon in PCs
Finally, Qualcomm is still hard at projecting its presence in the PC space. Working with brands like Microsoft and Adobe to advance Snapdragon's capabilities in desktops, laptops and handheld PCs in hopes of “accelerating the transition to Windows on Snapdragon” and "driving the convergence of mobile and PC".
Along with selected upcoming PC devices from the likes of Lenovo, Asus and Acer. Windows and Adobe developer kits are also powered by the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Compute Platform, not to be confused with the 8cx Gen 3, comprising of the Oryon CPU and Adreno GPU engineered for use with Windows 11, in terms of numbers, it's about 5 and 2.5 times faster than competitor CPUs and GPUs respectively, which competitor? We'll leave it up to your imagination.
It also uses the same Hexagon AI engine for distributed resource management on AI processes so products powered by Snapdragon chips, such as the Surface Pro 9 5G, will be 5G enabled and able to tap on AI-centric features like Windows Studio Effects consisting of Voice Focus, Background Blur, Automatic Framing and Eye Contact and more!
That’s the gist of all the things unveiled at Snapdragon Summit 2022, are you excited by any of their announcements? Let us know!