Qualcomm announces new chipset for Android smartwatches

It’s no secret that the Apple Watch is a dominant force in the smartwatch market. And it’s likely going to get more popular after its expected refresh on Sept. 12, when it will most likely get a larger screen and haptic feedback sensors. In total, the soon-to-be-released version of the Apple Watch will probably bring more people to buy a smartwatch and increase Apple’s lead over the competition.

But Qualcomm, one of Apple’s biggest rivals, is preempting the iPhone maker just a few days before its big event with the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform. The chipset was designed by Qualcomm in tandem with Google’s Wear OS team and promises to bring better battery life to the next-generation of watches. Furthermore, it might be the resurgence that Wear OS needs.

For the uninitiated, Android Wear was renamed Wear OS earlier this year, and it got a revamp in features like the Google Assistant, Google Fit, and a new notifications UX. The 3100 platform works in conjunction with these new Wear OS features to improve battery life and enable new experiences.

The Wear 3100 platform is built on an ultra-low power system architecture that has a QCC1110  co-processor inside. The co-processor is tiny at ~21mm and supports the central quad-core ARM processor. While it’s small in size, the co-processor can handle keyword search almost entirely on its own, which means it will likely power the Google Assistant and background processes — ultimately making your smartwatch faster and more responsive.

On the battery side, Qualcomm has enabled three different modes that customize the battery life depending on a user’s needs. Enhanced Ambient Mode seems to be the most featured filled, as it doesn’t cut back on display brightness, the number of complications, or with navigating the watch. Traditional Watch Mode will stretch out the battery life for an extended period, which likely results in a slower experience at a lower brightness setting. Lastly, Dedicated Sports Mode allows you to have GPS and heart rate turned on for long periods. Whether it be a triathlon or a marathon, the watch has you covered.

Qualcomm’s magic trick for this to happen is to offload the processes from the central quad-core processor to the QCC1110 co-processor. It seems that these might be modes that Wear OS will have the option to engage, or it might be smart enough to know when to switch the processes over. This ability to stretch out battery life is a core affordance of this platform. In the end, Qualcomm is estimating that this new processor can last 4-12 hours more than the previous Wear 2100 platform.

I’m a bit skeptical for now, especially given the broad range for expected battery improvement, but I’m eager to see this new platform in action on some future Wear OS watches. Also, what is a platform announcement without at least some manufacturers saying that they’ll be building for it?

Well, Fossil Group, Louis Vuitton, and Montblanc are the first launch partners to use the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 Platform (pretty great brands if you ask me). It ends up being a similar story as high-end fashion brands are still the first to flock towards Wear OS. The good news is that this list will likely grow, and while Google doesn’t have a Pixel smartwatch coming this year, who knows in 2019 there could be one with this chip.

Also, consumers should expect a range of watches to arrive as the 3100 platform will come in Bluetooth and WiFi, GPS, and 4G LTE variants. The chips are shipping today, so expect a new wave of Wear OS watches soon.