US chipmaker Qualcomm has announced the released of two new chips for smart wearables that it claims can increase battery life by 50%.
The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and W5 Gen 1 Plus are already set to be featured in a few watches, with Qualcomm saying that there are 25 designs already set to make use of the new chips.
As the wearables market continues to flourish, the new chips are set to give Qualcomm-powered watches built by Wear OS device manufacturers the ability to take on the Apple Watch, which boasts an S-Series chip, and Samsung’s range of Galaxy Watches, which run on the brands Exynos processors.
“The wearables industry continues to grow and present opportunities across multiple segments at an unprecedented pace,” said global head of Smart Wearables for Qualcomm Pankaj Kedia.
“The new wearable platforms – Snapdragon W5 Plus and Snapdragon W5 – represent our most advanced leap yet. Purpose-built for next generation wearables, these platforms address the most pressing consumer needs by delivering ultra-low power, breakthrough performance, and highly integrated packaging. Additionally, we extend our proven hybrid architecture with new low power innovations such as Deep Sleep and Hibernate states delighting consumers with premium user experiences while extending battery life.”
Alongside the potential for multi-day battery life thanks to ultra-low power usage, the new chips will allow developers to make their watches much smaller and slimmer, as the 12nm 4100+ SoC is swapped out for a 4nm processor in the W5 Plus Gen 1, which is 30% smaller and thinner.
The flagship will also have a 22nm always-on co-processor, Bluetooth 5.3 and Adreno 730 graphics. Efficiency is maintained thanks to low power islands for Wi-Fi, GNSS and audio, as well as low power states such as Hibernate and Deep Sleep. Users can expect 2x richer features and 2x higher performance, despite still being based on the quad-core Arm Cortex A53.
It will be interesting to see how Google proceed with their Pixel Watch, which is due to release in Q3 this year. It is currently expected to use the Exynos 9100, to the disappointment of many. However, rumours suggest it may sport a second chip.
