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Qualcomm continues to be the heartbeat of the spatial computing spectrum. Powering nearly every XR headset or glasses you can wear today, it’s embedded and instrumental throughout the spatial computing landscape. This includes an expanding array of Snapdragon XR platforms.
Here at the AWE conference, the company added to its roster with the AR1+ Gen 1 chip. This is purpose-built for the XR device class gaining the most traction today: AI-powered smart glasses. As such, it’s designed for glasses that are lightweight, camera-dependent, and AI-fueled.
The key term above is purpose-built. As the XR spectrum continues to broaden and diversify – a good thing, as we recently examined – individual devices are attuned to deliberate use cases or personas. It’s no longer a field characterized by Magic Leap, Meta Quest, and a few others.
With that broader trend towards purpose-built specificity, Qualcomm has likewise diversified its chipsets. Bisected by the XR and AR line of chips, they accommodate VR/MR devices and AR glasses, respectively. From there, they branch into several generations and variations.
That brings us back to AR1+ Gen 1 as the latest addition to the family. And to gather more color on the strategy and driving factors, we had the chance to catch up with Qualcomm’s SVP and GM of XR, Ziad Asghar. Fresh off his AWE keynote, we got together to break down all the above.
See the full video interview below, and stay tuned for more from Qualcomm as the XR device spectrum evolves and expands. It’s primed to grow its place at the center of that universe. And AR1+ Gen 1 will get ample mileage given the industry’s near-term collective road map.
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