Snapdragon-powered Wear OS smartwatches have typically struggled to keep up with competitors from Apple and Samsung. However, Qualcomm appears to have taken some of those criticisms to heart, as it unveils the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and W5+ Gen 1 chips that not only promise much-needed improvements in speed and battery life, but could also expand the range of wearables that use the company's technology.
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The flagship of the series, the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1, makes the leap from a 12nm system-on-chip in the 4100+ (already somewhat outdated by 2020) to a cutting-edge 4nm design with much newer Adreno 702 and support for 2,133MHz memory, albeit with the familiar quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 architecture. The new W1 AON co-processor, meanwhile, has moved from 28nm to 22nm, uses the newer Cortex-M55 architecture, and includes Bluetooth previously reserved for more demanding main SoCs. There are also low-power “islands” on the main chip that allow audio, navigation , and WiFi to run without waking up other components, while new Deep Sleep and Hibernate states rely almost exclusively on the co-processor when tasks require only minimal computing power.
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The result, according to Qualcomm, is twice the performance with 50 percent longer battery life in typical use. You can expect more uses for 3D on your watch. AI-based tasks, like real-time image recognition and voice assistants , should be boosted . And because the W5 series has up to a 35 percent smaller footprint, it should allow for thinner, smaller watches.
The regular Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 is basically a W5+ without the co-processor. While the W5+ is aimed primarily at Wear OS smartwatches, the W5 is more aimed at kids’ watches, medical devices , and other wearables that may not be as demanding. In a conversation with Engadget, Qualcomm’s head of smart wearables Pankaj Kedia said that he saw the W5 series opening up a “series of new opportunities” to reach brands and device categories that were previously off-limits.
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You won't have to wait long for the first products based on the platform. Oppo will release a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 watch within the next 30 days, while Mobvoi is preparing a W5+ Gen 1 smartwatch for the fall. There are 25 more designs already on the way, Qualcomm said. While the company didn't name any of these other customers, it wouldn't be surprising if some of the more well-known Wear OS watch makers adopt the technology in the coming months.
Information source: engadget.com
