Qualcomm hints at September 10th launch of next chipset for wearables
A Qualcomm event invitation suggests a new Wear OS chipset is on the way. This will bring better performance and a much needed battery boost for future smartwatches.
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The invitation for the September 10th event doesn’t go into specifics, but it does hint that something smartwatch-related will be unveiled. The US chipmaker has asked media to “set your watches” for the gathering. A smartwatch is pictured, set to 9:10. That’s probably enough of a hint for most.
The company currently holds more than 85% of the Wear OS space. Its current wearable chip, the Snapdragon 2100, is long overdue for an update having been released more than two years ago. The hope is the new chip will revive the fortunes of the Wear OS platform.
A major problem with the current crop of wearables is short battery life. Rather than increasing the physical size of the battery, focusing on introducing smaller, more power efficient and powerful chips is a viable solution. Rumours are the new smartwatch platform will offer a significant boost to battery life, built-in Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/GPS/LTE and a smaller physical footprint.
“You want to reduce power consumption. We are doing so at the chip level, at the platform level. So using the chipset to intelligently turn off things you’re not using, right? There’s a lot of action there.” Pankaj Kedia, Senior Director of Product Management at Qualcomm, said recently.
It is rumoured the new chip will find its way in the hotly anticipated Pixel-branded watch this October. Earlier this year, Qualcomm rolled out the Snapdragon Wear 2500, a chipset for kids wearables.
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