The race to put artificial intelligence into every corner of our lives does not stop. After conquering our phones, Qualcomm has just presented its new Snapdragon Wear Elitea processor designed specifically for smart watches and wearables such as pins or pendants with AI. On paper, this chip 3 nanometers seeks to leave previous generations behind, multiplying raw power and promising to take autonomy to a new level.
However, it's not all brute force. The company's true commitment lies in the integration of a Dedicated Hexagon NPUthe first on a chip of this type. This means one thing is clear: we will be able to run artificial intelligence models directly on the watch, reaching up to 2 billion parameters. We will have text summaries or a smarter virtual coach without constantly depending on the mobile or cloud connection.
More power and connectivity, the eternal battery dilemma
Qualcomm boasts that single-core performance is multiplied by five and graphics power is multiplied by seven compared to the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1. In addition, almost science fiction connectivity is added for a doll: 5G RedCap networks, satellite support, UWB and Bluetooth 6.0. The problem with watches is the same as always: so much technology tends to devour energy relentlessly. To compensate for this, the brand ensures that autonomy improves by 30% and that we can charge 50% of the battery in just 10 minutes.
The first equipment will arrive in the coming months, and the role of the large manufacturers is very striking. After verifying the leaked information from the sector, instead of abandoning their processors, it seems that brands like Samsung will opt for a dual strategy. Rumors suggest that they will reserve this new snapdragon for your most popular models premiumwhile they will continue betting on their own chips such as Exynos W1000 —which has met fan demands—for its standard watches.
Snapdragon Wear Elite technical sheet
- Architecture: 3 nanometers
- Processor: 5 cores (one main at 2.1 GHz and four secondary at 1.9 GHz)
- Graphics– Up to 7x the maximum FPS performance
- Artificial intelligence– One dedicated Hexagon NPU and integrated low-power NPU
- Autonomy: 30% longer life and 50% charge in 10 minutes
- Connectivity: 5G RedCap networks, micropower Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 6.0, GNSS, UWB and NB-NTN
Taking into account the history of autonomy in smart watches and these market movements, Do you think the new processor will be the definitive salvation or a battery-eater disguised as innovation?
