With artificial intelligence pushing deeper into every corner of the hardware world, Qualcomm has unveiled chipsets designed to power the next wave of mixed-reality AI experiences.
On Tuesday, at Augmented World Expo, Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon Reality Elite platform targeting the next generation of spatial computing headsets. The chipset powers on-device AI across both all-in-one video-see-through (VST) and lightweight tethered optical-see-through (OST) form factors, a response, the company says, to rising demand for XR hardware that is smarter and more capable.
“Snapdragon Reality Elite is designed to meet those demands with powerful on-device AI, enabling faster, longer-lasting, and more immersive experiences," said Ziad Asghar, SVP and GM of XR, Wearables and Personal AI, in the release.
The platform delivers up to 48 TOPS of on-device AI performance, enabling large language models and vision models to run locally. Combined with its XR capabilities, that horsepower opens the door to photorealistic avatars, context-aware responses, and sharper overall performance.
The chipset also provides the devices with better performance beyond AI. For instance, it supports better hand motion tracking, up to 4.4K per eye at 90 frames per second, increased power efficiency with up to 20% longer battery life, and cooler temperatures. It also enables up to 60% higher GPU performance, up to 30% higher CPU performance, and up to 160% higher NPU performance, according to the release.
The Snapdragon Reality Elite is the foundational platform for the XREAL Project Aura glasses, which were also launched at AWE. The mixed-reality glasses feature a 70-degree field of view, optical see-through frames that weigh less than 95G, and deep integration with Google’s Android XR platform. I will be demoing them at AWE, so stay tuned for my experience.
Our Deeper View #
AI's widespread demand has elevated expectations for what a computing device can do, permeating all categories, including some less obvious than a mixed reality headset. But it makes sense: smart glasses are as popular as they are precisely because they help users layer AI assistance onto the world around them. Mixed reality not only has the potential to place AI into that world, but it also adds a whole virtual layer on top, and the possibilities there are vast. With the new chip, the technology is advancing to bring AI glasses and spatial computing another step closer together.