Qualcomm revealed May 29 it had built a chip specifically to power virtual reality and augmented reality headsets.
The San Diego chipmaker made the announcement on May 29, ahead of the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara.
It called the Snapdragon XR1 platform – XR for “extended reality,” a term Qualcomm to refer to the full range of such technologies – the first of its kind.
“As technology evolves and consumer demand grows, we envision XR devices playing a wider variety of roles in consumers’ and workers’ daily lives,” said Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president and general manager of its mobile business unit. “By integrating powerful visuals, high-fidelity audio, and rich interactive experiences, XR1 will help create a new era of high-quality, mainstream XR devices for consumers.”
Qualcomm said manufacturers, including Meta, VIVE, Vuzix and Picoare, were already developing products on the platform.
The X1 platform includes artificial intelligence capabilities to allow for better power consumption, thermal efficiency and interactivity, the company said.
Reach reporter Sarah de Crescenzo at sarahd@sdbj.com.
