Qualcomm released the Snapdragon Wear Elite—a chip with two AI modules for smart glasses, watches, and other wearable gadgets

Qualcomm launches a new chip for smartwatches – Snapdragon Wear Elite

The company announced the release of the *Snapdragon Wear Elite* chip, positioned as a “platform of the future” for personal wearables with continuous AI support.

What it can do
* Operating systems – runs on Linux, full Android, and Google WearOS.

* Processor – a five‑core CPU: one high‑performance core at 2.1 GHz + four cores at 1.95 GHz. This boosts overall performance by 30 % compared to the previous generation.

* GPU – sevenfold increase in power; now it can play 1080p video at 60 fps and track health and sports more smoothly.

AI accelerators
1. Primary NPU (Hexagon)

* Supports models up to 2 billion parameters from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Tencent.

* First‑token latency – 0.2 s; generation speed – 10 tokens per second.

* Can perform speech synthesis, computer vision, and personalized AI agents.

2. Secondary eNPU

* Saves energy during continuous operation: keyword spotting, action recognition, echo suppression, and noise reduction in voice calls.

Power consumption and charging
* Efficiency – thanks to the 3 nm process, the chip consumes less power.

* Fast charging – about 10 minutes to reach 50 % charge.

Connectivity
* 5G RedCap and Wi‑Fi 802.11ax (Micro‑Power) – connect to low‑power networks.

* Bluetooth 6.0 – data exchange with other gadgets.

* UWB – ultra‑wideband communication over short distances.

* NB‑NTN – two‑way satellite connectivity.

* GPS/GLONASS module for navigation.

What’s next
Qualcomm said that the first devices featuring Snapdragon Wear Elite will appear in the coming months. This promises a new level of personal wearables where AI runs continuously without noticeably affecting battery life.