Qualcomm isn’t new to mixed reality, but the chip-maker chose to focus on augmented reality (AR) as the push for true smart glasses continues. Announced today, the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 Platform is its first, purpose-built AR platform, intended to squeeze neatly into a pair of glasses that don’t look like a 2000’s sci-fi movie prop. By splitting the hardware into three and leaving a wirelessly-connected phone to do much of the heavy lifting, Qualcomm is confident its new platform is ready for daily wear.
That’s certainly not something you could say about a lot of the “AR glasses” projects and products we’ve seen in recent years. Previous iterations of those have run on Qualcomm’s own chipsets, like Lenovo’s Smart Glasses T1, but they’ve been fairly clunky and relied on a wired link with a smartphone or computer. A wireless version followed earlier in 2022, but it was still based on the Snapdragon XR2 Platform that the company also offers for virtual reality (VR) headsets.
Source: slashgear.com