Qualcomm to build Snapdragon chip for Microsoft AR glasses

The companies are joining hands to develop a new, customised Snapdragon AR chip that'll power future AR glasses from Microsoft.

Las Vegas: Chip-maker Qualcomm and Microsoft have partnered to accelerate the adoption of augmented reality (AR) in both the consumer and enterprise sector, as the buzz around Metaverse grows bigger.

The companies are joining hands to develop a new, customised Snapdragon AR chip that’ll power future AR glasses from Microsoft.

---

“We’re announcing that we’re developing a custom augmented reality Snapdragon chip for next-generation, power-efficient, very lightweight AR glasses for the Microsoft ecosystem,” said Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

“And we’re integrating into that chip platform software from both companies: the Microsoft Mesh platform, and the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon Spaces XR development platform,” he said on Tuesday during the Qualcomm’s ‘CES 2022’ keynote here.

Snapdragon Spaces will be fully integrated into Microsoft Mesh, and this platform will be available for next-generation lightweight glasses.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 chip already powers Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 headset from 2019.

Snapdragon XR2 powers the Oculus Quest 2 (a Meta product).

“Our goal is to inspire and empower others to collectively work to develop the metaverse future – a future that is grounded in trust and innovation,” said Ruben Caballero, corporate vice president Mixed Reality, Microsoft.

“With services like Microsoft Mesh, we are committed to delivering the safest and most comprehensive set of capabilities to power metaverses that blend the physical and digital worlds,” he added.