: Qualcomm
Qualcomm at the moment unveiled the following era of SoCs for wearables, the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 and Snapdragon W5 Gen 1. The corporate says that the brand new chipsets have been redesigned from the bottom up and have been introduced below the identical naming construction because the flagship cell processor. The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 succeeds the 2020’s Snapdragon Put on 4100 platform, and the corporate guarantees 50% decrease energy consumption, two occasions larger efficiency, 2x richer options, and 30% smaller measurement in comparison with the earlier era.
Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1: Specs
| Structure | 4nm |
| CPU | 4x Cortex-A53 1.7GHz |
| GPU | A702 1GHz |
| Reminiscence | 16GB LPDDR4 |
| Machine studying | ARM Ethos-U55 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Modem | Launch 13 LTE, Cat 1 bis |
The Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 chipset relies on the a lot newer 4nm node course of structure. It’s a large leap ahead in comparison with the Snapdragon Put on 4100+, which used a 12nm node course of structure. As for the specifics, Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 encompasses a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU clocked at 1.7GHz. Whereas Cortex-A55 would have given the chipset an enormous benefit over the earlier gen, the brand new structure coupled with the quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU ought to ship a much-needed efficiency increase.
: Qualcomm
Along with the brand new CPU, the SoC additionally comes with a brand new 22nm-based always-on co-processor. The brand new Cortex M55 co-processor on the chipset can also be primarily based on the newer structure in comparison with the earlier era. Qualcomm says that it has managed to enhance the operations the co-processor can carry out all whereas lowering energy consumption. If you’re not interacting with the smartwatch, the co-processor can now deal with duties like always-on show, music, notifications, health monitoring, sleep monitoring, and extra.
The brand new chip additionally comes with 1GHz Adreno 702 GPU (that permits 3D watch faces, 3D maps navigation, and 1080p video streaming), LPDDR5 RAM (vs. LPDDR3 on the Put on 4100+), and a brand new U55 machine studying chip — one thing that wasn’t current on the Put on 4100+ SoC. Coupled with a quicker Wi-Fi chip, Bluetooth 5.3, and a “best-in-class” LTE modem, Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 does appear to be an enormous improve over the earlier era.
: Qualcomm
Whereas efficiency beneficial properties are good to have, battery life was one of many most important issues of the Put on 4100+ smartwatches. Qualcomm is addressing these points with the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1. The corporate claims that smartwatches with a 300 mAh battery and W5 Plus Gen 1 might provide as much as 43 hours of battery life, whereas smartwatches with a 600 mAh battery might provide as much as Three days of use. There are new Deep Sleep and Hibernate modes as nicely. These modes assist by drastically lowering the facility consumption, thus extending the battery life.
Whereas Qualcomm did unveil the common Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip alongside the Plus variant, it did not reveal a whole lot of particulars in regards to the common W5 Gen 1 chip. As an alternative, it says that the W5+ Gen 1 would be the go-to chipset for “mainstream smartwatches,” whereas the W5 Gen 1 is reserved for “segment-specific wearables”, which embody child and senior-focused watches and different well being wearables.
First smartwatches with Snapdragon W5/W5 Plus Gen 1 chip
: Qualcomm
Qualcomm has introduced that OPPO and Mobvoi would be the first producers to launch smartwatches with the brand new Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and W5 Plus Gen 1 platform. OPPO will unveil its Watch Three with Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 subsequent month whereas Mobvoi will launch its next-gen TicWatch flagship smartwatch with the Plus variant of the chipset in the autumn.
To lock up the method, Qualcomm has additionally introduced two reference designs in partnership with Compal and Pegatron. Qualcomm says that the reference design won’t solely showcase the capabilities of the brand new platform, however it would additionally permit OEMs to develop merchandise quicker. Whereas the next-generation Samsung Galaxy Watch lineup and even the Google Pixel Watch are stated to make use of the Exynos W920 processor, the brand new Qualcomm chipset might persuade the businesses to modify to their providing in the longer term.
