Meta Quest 3 Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon XR Gen 2 Chip
Virtual reality headsets and smart glasses are about to get a lot snappier thanks to wholly revised platforms from Qualcomm.
The company today announced the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 for mixed reality (AR and VR) devices and the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 for smart glasses alongside Meta at the latter's Meta Connect event. Qualcomm says improved artificial intelligence performance will help mixed reality devices to better blend physical and virtual worlds and smart glasses to offer high-quality cameras and faster connections.
The Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 Platform is a single chip that combines both mixed and virtual reality technologies. It targets entertainment, gaming, and productivity headset experiences with much improved visuals. For example, Qualcomm says the XR2 has 2.5x better GPU performance compared with its predecessor and that will help with immersion by boosting clarity, colors, and textures all at higher frame rates.
It can handle up to 3K resolution output per eye. The chip relies on an 8x improvement to on-device AI to provide higher-grade positional tracking. It does this via faster computer vision in concert with support for up to 10 on-device cameras. This will in turn provide more life-like in-experience movement.
Augmented reality devices also stand to gain from the XR2 Gen 2. Qualcomm says the platform is better at merging virtual content with the physical surroundings of the wearer thanks to full-color video pass-through at up to 12ms.
Qualcomm didn't forget about sound. Spatial audio and low-latency audio are supported thanks to the Snapdragon Sound Technology Suite. Last, the platform relies on faster connections thanks to the embedded Qualcomm FastConnect Wi-Fi 6E/7 Platform.
The Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1
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