14 DAY TRIAL // Qualcomm has become one of the world’s biggest silicone providers, as a lot of smartphone and tablet manufacturers appeal to the company’s chips to breathe life into their offerings.
But what’s hot and steamy at this moment is wearables. This market has a huge potential for development and more and more tech giants are starting to pay attention.
So the question arises, when will Qualcomm make the transition and start powering smartwatches and health-centric bands? The answer comes from Asian media like always, reports Gforgames.
Fresh reports coming from Taiwanese sources (via Gforgames) indicate Qualcomm is indeed planning to join the wearable frenzy and this will happen before the end of the year.
Currently, Qualcomm doesn't have any chips that might be implemented into wearables, but this will certainly change in the near future.
Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Taiwan president Eddie Change himself has stated that the chip-maker has all the technologies needed to create SoCs compatible with wearables.
This isn’t the first time the company has talked wearables. In an interview dating back to March, a Qualcomm spokesperson confirmed the company was ready to move past smartphone and tablet processors and provide chips for wearables, more specifically for Android Wear ones.
While this new report doesn't make any mention of Android Wear, we might as well assume Qualcomm chips will arrive in smartwatches and fitness bands that will not make use of Google’s platform.
Qualcomm’s Eddie Chang has declined to reveal further details about the company’s agenda when it comes to the wearable market. For example, we can’t tell you which brand vendors Qualcomm will be partnering up, nor the specifications which the company’s chips will end up supporting.
According to the report, Qualcomm has been keeping a watchful eye on the wearable market but has been waiting for the right time to make a move.
Recent research indicates that the wearable market has grown by three times compared to last year, so it’s not a big surprise Qualcomm is trying to make an entry.
The chip-maker will surely not become a notable presence in wearable market by virtue of its Toq smartwatch alone.
The latest information shared with us by Strategy Analytics shows Samsung has dominion over the smartwatch market for the moment, with 71% share in Q1 2014. Sony and Pebble were the follow-ups with 11% each and Qualcomm completed the top with its 10,000 sold units, that translate into 1.4% marketshare.
Judging by the results, Qualcomm certainly has to expand in terms of partnerships, if it’s looking to make an impact.