Oppo & Mobvoi will be the first out of the box with Snapdragon W5+ watches
Oppo will be the first company to launch a watch with support for the new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ platform. It will be followed by Mobvoi.
Yesterday, Qualcomm announced its next generation Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and the W5+ Gen 1 platforms for watches. Both SoCs are built on the 4nm process, they come with twice as better user experience, 30% smaller size, and a slew of other improvements.
A major upgrade is 50% longer battery life. This means you will be able to keep your WearOS watch going for much longer between charges. Qualcomm has, apparently, worked closely with Google to fine tune Wear OS so that it can take full advantage of the new SoC.
The main difference between the two W5 models is that the non-Plus model misses out on the AON Co-Processor. That one will primarily be used for segment specific wearables (such as kids watches, devices for seniors, etc) that do not require the extra power saving capabilities of the W5+.
Oppo will be the fist out of the box with a W5+ watch
The first smartwatches looking to adopt the Snapdragon W5+ platform will be launched in August with the Oppo Watch 3 series. The company is one of Qualcomm’s biggest supporters.
Oppo Watch 2 was launched about a year ago. The device comes packing the Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip along with a dual operating system.
Few details are known about the Oppo Watch 3. The only info out there comes from Digital Chat station. They expect that there will be three models, a high screen-to-body ratio and the watches will feature a “micro arc square dial design”. No doubt, as the launch date approaches we will learn more.
Mobvoi is also working on a W5+ watch
Oppo’s watches will be followed by Mobvoi. This will be a new generation of Mobvoi TicWatch to launch this Fall. The company was actually, the first to come out with a watch that supports the 4100 platform, namely the TicWatch 3 Pro.
Here’s what the company’s CEO Zhifei Li had to say about its next watch.
“Mobvoi has collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies over the last few years to launch a series of TicWatch smartwatches based on the Snapdragon Wear platforms,” said Zhifei Li.
“Our team is excited about the differentiated features in the new Snapdragon W5+ Wearable Platform and has been working closely with the Qualcomm Technologies’ team to bring these innovations to life in our next gen TicWatch flagship smartwatch. We are eager to launch our latest offering this Fall and are thrilled to be the first smartwatches based on the Snapdragon W5+ Gen1 Wearable Platform.”
Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where the information on the upcoming Mobvoi watch ends. The Fall is not far away now so we should be hearing more in the coming months. September is a good month to launch. It coincides with IFA in Berlin and also comes before Black Friday sales in November and the all-important end-year shopping period.
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We did write a few days ago about a Mobvoi watch that is in the works. A user on Reddit was invited to register as a Beta tester for an upcoming high-end Ticwatch. The invitation revealed the device will have a long duration battery, Google Pay, IP68 water-resistance, GPS, speaker and microphone, new IHB/AFiB detection and fatigue assessment and an improved premium design.
This could very well be the upcoming TicWatch Pro 4. It would be the ideal candidate for the new Snapdragon W5+ chip. Particularly as the current generation uses a dual display system. If this is retained for Pro 4, the device will be able to tap into a processor that supports the ability to run RTOS alongside WearOS.
Mobvoi has, in fact, teased its next Ticwatch earlier today on social media. The company says that the watch will use the W5+ which will enable it to be the “most powerful smartwatch” from the brand to date. And that the device will offer “enhanced battery life.”
The next-gen TicWatch will include the latest version, the Snapdragon W5+ platform, offering enhanced battery life on a single charge, which will make it the most powerful smartwatch in the series to date. In addition, the Snapdragon W5+ platform’s powerful applications processor and ultralow power co-processor will enable Mobvoi to deliver a smartwatch with ultra-fast performance and connectivity.
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