The extended reality (XR) market is still expanding, particularly in light of Apple’s recent endorsement of the sector with the release of the Apple Vision Pro (AVP). In fact, discussing Qualcomm’s role as a market enabler today would be impossible without mentioning Apple and the AVP. Each product announcement during the most recent Apple event, which focused on the iPhone and Apple Watch, had a clear connection to the AVP. This should demonstrate how important Apple and other players in the market view the XR market.
However, since 2013, when the business started pursuing its XR objectives, Qualcomm has been supporting the XR industry, and it has been conducting research in this area since 2007. As early as the Snapdragon 805 in 2013, which powered the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR and ODG R7 glasses, Qualcomm has been almost the exclusive supplier of chipsets for the mobile XR market. The XR1, a Snapdragon 821-based dedicated XR chip, was unveiled by Qualcomm in 2018. The history Qualcomm has in such a fresh market area should be kept in mind when we examine the company’s most recent products.
XR2 Gen 2:
Since the XR2 platform’s generational upgrade by Qualcomm, which was unveiled in the winter of 2019, has almost passed four years. Even though the market has altered much since then, the XR2 is now the standard for standalone XR experiences and is found in many expensive headsets.
However, the XR2 Gen 1 has been feeling a little dated lately, so a refresh was required, especially since Apple built the AVP around a multi-chip solution that makes use of the M2 architecture, the company’s newest and fastest SoC. While Qualcomm’s XR2 architecture integrates all of those features into a single SoC, Apple’s strategy also includes a separate Apple R1 chip for handling all of the displays and sensors required to power the headgear. The XR2 is an entire SoC with all the features Qualcomm’s clients, Apple’s rivals, will require to compete with the AVP. Even though the Apple Vision Pro is a premium product, everything that is released will still be compared to the AVP. Qualcomm has accomplished what Apple has not with the XR2 Gen 1 and Gen 2 by combining the required IP to operate an XR headset onto a single SoC. I think Apple will eventually adopt the XR2’s design for its upcoming headsets in order to reduce costs, but for now, it’s obvious that the XR2 Gen 2 will give headset OEMs a fighting chance to provide competitive solutions.
The XR2 Gen 2 is a top-tier SoC constructed on the 4nm process node that makes use of Qualcomm’s most recent technological advancements, many of which are shared with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (as we’ve seen from certain leaks). The Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 will see a 2.5x gain in peak performance from the GPU alone. This will result in not just much improved image quality for all the new high-resolution XR screens, but also greater battery life for devices that don’t use such panels when combined with variable rate shading and foveated rendering. For headsets that don’t need to drive more pixels, Qualcomm is also claiming a 50% increase in GPU power efficiency, which could significantly improve thermals and battery life. Since 3K x 3K panels have a very high resolution, Qualcomm claims that the XR2 Gen 2 has been tuned for them. This explains why you would gain from a 2.5x improvement in GPU performance.
AI performance on an XR headset is more crucial than on a smartphone or a computer, but it’s one of the most important performance criteria that’s frequently disregarded in the XR market. This is due to the fact that modern XR headsets employ a large number of computer vision and machine learning algorithms to improve the user experience. AI performance is essential to enable them at low latency and cheap power because many of them must operate continuously. In light of this, Qualcomm’s promise of an 8x gain in AI performance is enormous and will allow devices to run many AI applications at once. This entails providing simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM), voice recognition, generative AI, eye tracking, and hand tracking without the user noticing any lags.
By allowing up to 10 cameras or sensors, up from seven, the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 ups the ante on camera compatibility from the Gen 1. OEMs, who have reached their limit of seven cameras, are probably driving this requirement. They want to have access to more sensors or cameras for purposes like enhanced environment and object recognition and enhanced hand-, eye-, face-, and mouth-tracking. Additionally, according to Qualcomm, the XR2 Gen 2 supports near-90 hertz video passthrough and offers 12 ms full-color video passthrough for mixed reality applications.
According to Qualcomm, Meta’s Quest 3 headset will be the first XR2 Gen 2 product to release this year. This shows that the two businesses have maintained their collaboration throughout the various ups and downs the XR sector has seen. It’s interesting to note that Qualcomm made no mention of the XR2 Gen 2’s 5G capabilities, but did state that the device will support Wi-Fi 7 when linked with a Qualcomm FastConnect 7800. OEMs can use the special QuickConnect Software Suite for XR that is part of the FastConnect 7800 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth platform to achieve further speed and latency enhancements.
AR1 Gen 1:
The AR2 Gen 1 emerged last year as a disaggregated multi-chip solution intended for high-end, low-power AR glasses, and the AR1 Gen 1 follows in its footsteps. Although Qualcomm officially states that it has products in various stages of development with OEMs like Lenovo, LG, Nreal, OPPO, Pico, QONOQ, Rokid, Sharp, TCL, Vuzix, and Xiaomi, the AR2 Gen 1 has yet to arrive in any products. The AR1 is an extremely lightweight platform since it is significantly lighter than the AR2. The 4nm process node is used in both devices, however the AR1 is a single-chip solution with a cost-effective design. For low-latency Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the AR1 will use Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7800, just like the XR2 Gen 2. The AR1 is made to power no-display, single-display, and dual-display glasses up to 1280 x 1280 per eye and is targeted at the entry-level AR glasses market. The AR1’s camera features have also been improved by Qualcomm with a 14-bit ISP, 12MP still shots, and 6MP video recording.
AI capabilities are also included in the AR1 Gen 1, but they are not quite as advanced as those found in the AR2 or XR2 systems. The AR1 platform is designed for incredibly thin augmented reality glasses that rely significantly on a smartphone for computation and connection. From a manufacturing standpoint, this product fills a void that was previously filled by the XR1 and the Snapdragon Wear 4100, which means that an AR1 product was desperately needed because the XR1 product was used for too long to cover any products that didn’t reasonably require an XR2 for reasons of cost or performance. The first generation of Ray-Ban Stories from Meta eyewear is powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100, which will thankfully be replaced by the AR1 platform for the Ray-Ban Stories of the future. The photo and video image quality is one of my top complaints about those glasses, so perhaps this will fix that. The AR1 Gen 1 is expected to appear in other AR headsets by 2024 after it launches later this year.
Conclusion:
The XR2 Gen 2 and AR1 Gen 1 show the tight connection between Qualcomm and Meta in XR—a partnership that gives both firms an edge in the market—considering that both of them will launch this year in Meta goods. Meta obtains access to the most advanced semiconductor technology, while Qualcomm gains a cutting-edge client with sizable volume and some of the most innovative XR and AI applications in the market.
Although Qualcomm and Meta have a strong partnership, Qualcomm still benefits many other clients with its chipsets. I anticipate that the XR2 and AR1 will be extensively used throughout the industry because they enable such a wide variety of headsets and users. I think the XR2 Gen 2 will give Qualcomm’s partners a strong device performance alternative to Apple’s Vision Pro, allowing some of them to even release high-end headsets that might be able to compete with Apple in terms of specs if they can secure competitive high-resolution displays. We do know that Samsung has collaborated with Google and Qualcomm on its next XR headset, and I anticipate that when it is unveiled, it will likely include an XR2 Gen 2 as well. If Google doesn’t get in the way, a genuine competition between Samsung and Apple for XR headsets could signal a turning point for the XR market.
