Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon Wear Elite chip for on-device AI on wearables

Qualcomm's new platform brings on-device AI, improved battery life and advanced connectivity to smartwatches and emerging wearable form factors including pins and pendants

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform, a new chip designed for the next generation of wearable devices, as the company looks to bring more AI processing directly onto devices such as smartwatches and other emerging form factors. The company said the new platform is built to support what it calls “personal AI” experiences at the edge, meaning AI tasks are handled on the device rather than relying on the cloud.

 

Wear Elite will sit alongside Qualcomm’s existing W5 series rather than replace it. The first commercial devices running the new chip are expected to arrive within the next few months, from Google, Motorola and Samsung.

 

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite: What’s new

Snapdragon Wear Elite is Qualcomm’s first wearable platform with an integrated neural processing unit (NPU) designed for on-device AI. The chip includes Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU and what the company describes as an enhanced NPU setup to handle different types of AI workloads.

 

According to Qualcomm, the Hexagon NPU can support models with up to two billion parameters on-device, enabling tasks such as natural voice interactions, contextual recommendations and sensor-driven AI features without constant cloud access.

The chip is built on a 3nm process and introduces what Qualcomm calls a multi-mode connectivity architecture. It integrates 5G RedCap, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 6.0, ultra-wideband (UWB), GNSS and NB-NTN satellite connectivity support. The idea is to allow wearables to remain connected across cellular, local wireless and even satellite networks, depending on coverage.

 

On performance, Qualcomm claims up to a fivefold improvement in single-core CPU performance and up to seven times faster GPU performance compared to the previous Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2 platform. The company also says the platform offers around 30 per cent longer day-to-day battery life, with support for rapid charging that can deliver up to 50 per cent charge in about 10 minutes.

 

Qualcomm added that certain functions, such as GPS tracking, are now significantly more power efficient, reducing energy consumption compared to earlier generations.

What the new chip can power

Unlike traditional smartwatch chips focused mainly on notifications and health tracking, Snapdragon Wear Elite is positioned to support a broader category of AI-driven wearables.

Qualcomm said the platform is designed to work across Wear OS by Google, Android and Linux-based systems. Beyond smartwatches, the company expects the chip to power devices such as AI-enabled pendants, pins and potentially display-light or display-free smart glasses. More advanced augmented reality glasses would likely use Qualcomm’s separate AR-focused chips.

 

Samsung said it plans to integrate Snapdragon Wear Elite into a future Galaxy Watch, while Google indicated the chip would support the next phase of Wear OS development. Motorola has also referenced the platform in the context of AI-centric wearable concepts.