Qualcomm today announced the new Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2 and W5 Gen 2 wearable platforms for premium smartwatches. These new wearable platforms are the first in the industry to offer direct satellite connectivity, allowing users to enjoy two-way emergency messaging directly from the smartwatch even when mobile networks are not available.
The Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2 and W5 Gen 2 platforms are using Skylo’s Narrowband Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) for satellite connectivity. Thanks to the 4nm manufacturing process, the W5+ Gen 2 comes with an optimized RF Front End (RFFE) to deliver more performance and efficiency. The size and power consumption are also reduced by ~20%, allowing OEMs to deliver thinner smartwatches with better battery life.
To improve GPS positioning accuracy in densely urban or deep canyon areas, Qualcomm’s Location Machine Learning 3.0 delivers improved GPS positioning accuracy by up to 50% compared to the previous-generation wearable platform.
The Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 is compatible with the latest version of Wear OS and it is also powering the recently announced Google Pixel Watch 4.
Sandeep Waraich, Sr. Director, Product Management for Google Wearables, said:
“We’re excited to have the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 powering the new Google Pixel Watch 4, delivering high performance, delightful experiences, and potentially life-saving capabilities. For smartwatches, performance, efficiency, and connectivity are crucial features that need to work seamlessly in any environment, and this new platform, coupled with Wear OS 6, delivers on all fronts, and to be the first smartwatch to market with emergency satellite communications is a huge leap forward in our suite of safety features.”
This new W5 wearable platform is available both with a low-power co-processor as the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2, or without the co-processor as the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2. Google is using its own co-processor with the Pixel Watch 4; hence, it is using the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2.