Developed in collaboration with Meta, Qualcomm on Wednesday introduced two new Snapdragon chipsets designed to energy the subsequent wave of next-generation headphones and good glasses.
The Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 is the extra highly effective of the 2, boasting 2.5 instances higher GPU efficiency than the final technology and as much as eight instances sooner AI speeds. It has been optimized to assist combined actuality units with show resolutions as much as 3000 x 3000 per eye whereas offering extra detailed textures and better body charges.
As for headsets that may swap between VR and AR, Qualcomm says the XR2 Gen 2 permits the headset to modify to full-color transient viewing in lower than 12 milliseconds. Different capabilities embody assist for units with as much as 10 cameras, improved wi-fi speeds (as much as Wi-Fi 7) and a 50 p.c enhance in GPU energy effectivity.
Alternatively, for light-weight units like good glasses, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip offers improved on-device AI processing, higher noise and echo cancellation, and twin ISPs for improved picture high quality. The brand new silicon can even assist units with as much as 12MP cameras (6MP for video) and as much as eight spatial audio microphones for richer audio recording.
Notably, because of its collaboration with Meta, Qualcomm’s newest XR and AR processors will first be obtainable on the brand new Quest 3 and Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, each of which can go on sale in October. Qualcomm says that “further units from different producers will comply with within the subsequent yr,” suggesting that the Mita may have some degree of restricted exclusivity relating to utilizing these new chips.
So, whereas the Meta might have some leg up over a few of its opponents, it will likely be attention-grabbing to see what different OEMs can do with these chips when units that includes them grow to be extra extensively obtainable in 2024.