Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+, W5 Smartwatch Chips Are Here; Oppo, Mobvoi To Adopt These SoCs Soon

Chip-making giant Qualcomm has introduced two more efficient chips built for smartwatches that promise big battery gains.

OEMs Oppo and Mobvoi are among the first brands to announce smartwatches based on the new platforms. Image: Qualcomm

Chip-making giant Qualcomm has introduced two more efficient chips built for smartwatches that promise big battery gains. The new wearable chips are the Snapdragon W5+ and W5 which are made for premium smartwatches and the latter for smartwatches for children and activity trackers, respectively. According to Pankaj Kedia, Qualcomm’s Global Head of Smart Wearables both W5+ and W5 are made for wearable devices. 

OEMs Oppo and Mobvoi are among the first brands to announce smartwatches based on the new platforms.

Notably, Qualcomm has ditched the Snapdragon Wear branding in our of new names for the chipsets. Both the Snapdragon W5+ and W5 are built on 4nm process which is a giant leap from the previous 12nm processor, which promises big battery gains and higher processing power. According to the San Diego, California-headquartered company, the Snapdragon W5+ promises a 50 per cent longer battery life than the previous-gen Snapdragon Wear 4100+.

"The wearables industry continues to grow and present opportunities across multiple segments at an unprecedented pace," Pankaj Kedia, Senior Director, Product Marketing and Global Head of Smart Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies, said in a statement.

“The new wearable platforms – Snapdragon W5+ 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," Kedia added.

Talking about the specs, the flagship Snapdragon W5+ chip offers 50 per cent lower power, 2X higher performance, 2X richer features and 30 per cent smaller size compared to the previous generation wearable chipset. It features a 22nm always-on co-processor. It incorporates a series of platform innovations including new ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.3 architecture, low power islands for Wi-Fi, GNSS and Audio, and low power states such as Deep Sleep and Hibernate.

“The announcement of the latest Snapdragon W5 wearable platform will bring smart wearable technology to a new level,” said Franco Li, Oppo Associate Vice President and President of IoT Business.