14 DAY TRIAL // If we haven’t stated this enough, wearables seem to be tech’s new best thing. In the following months, we’re probably headed for a full schedule as far as smartwatches are concerned, with more products from the category being prepped for official launch.
Google and Samsung have already launched their SDKs inviting developers to start building apps for the smartwatches. But now it appears that chipmakers are hungry to have a taste of the wearable pie, as well. Pocket-lint has managed to get in touch with a Qualcomm spokesperson who has confirmed that the company is ready to go past smartphone and tablet processors to provide chip support for Android Wear wearables.
“Qualcomm Technologies is working with Google and our customers to enable innovative solutions for the wearable segment based on Android Wear and the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor portfolio.”
“We have a number of designs in development and are excited at the potential opportunities for products and technologies across our portfolio in this emerging device category.”
This week, Google has officially announced its Android Wear OS specially designed for wearable devices, something that has prompted speculations that Google’s own rumored Nexus smartwatch is somewhere in the pipeline ready to be unleashed soon (supposedly in June, alongside the Nexus 8/9 tablet).
LG and Motorola have already announced that they will be releasing smartwatches running the platform this year and we can safely assume now that the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform will be in charge of juicing up the devices.
Since Qualcomm’s offerings are everywhere in the smartphone/tablet market, it’s not a big surprise that the company is now pushing them into wearables, devices that are gaining more and more traction with each passing month.
Qualcomm didn't go into specifics regarding what kind of processors, speeds or capabilities we would to be in for, but it did highlight connectivity as a main option.
“While we can’t comment on any specifics surrounding features in our forthcoming OEM launches in this area, we do believe connectivity is a key component to the future of new mobile device categories like wearables and have a portfolio of products to enable this whether through 4G, 3G, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi,” said the company.
Qualcomm is no stranger to wearables itself. The chipmaker has launched its Qualcomm Toq in 2013.
The smartwatch is a decent effort showing what Qualcomm can do in terms of wearable design. Anyway, recently, the company has slashed $100 / €73 off the wearable’s price, probably in anticipation of Samsung’s new line-up.