CES 2022: Qualcomm, Microsoft developing custom chip for lightweight AR glasses

Qualcomm during its CES 2022 keynote announced that it is currently working with Microsoft to develop a new customized Snapdragon augmented reality chip. The company claims that this chip will power future AR glasses within the Microsoft ecosystem.

The company claims, the new chip is being developed “for next-generation, power-efficient, very lightweight AR glasses.”

“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. Snapdragon Spaces will be fully integrated into Microsoft Mesh, and this platform will be available for next-generation lightweight glasses,” said Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon during the keynote.

The partnership does not come as a surprise considering that the Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset launched back in 2019 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC. Apart from this, the Snapdragon XR2 SoC already powers the Oculus Quest 2 headset.

Both Microsoft and Qualcomm already have a past considering their partnership on customised chipsets for the Surface Pro X line, which are powered by the custom SQ1 and SQ2 processors.

Interestingly, the new chip will come with support for both Microsoft Mesh and Qualcomm Snapdragon Spaces XR. Both of these platforms come with unique mixed reality use cases for different devices. Mesh already includes cross-platform support for VR/AR systems, while Snapdragon Spaces XR utilises smartphones as a second screen to provide users with mixed reality experiences.

Qualcomm during the keynote has highlighted the fact that this collaboration between the tech giants is focused on developing a chip for ultra-light AR glasses. This shows both the companies have major ambitions for the unavoidable Metaverse.

While the company did announce the partnership and revealed a few details, it has not provided us with a specific timeline for the release of the chip, or any key technical specifications. Due to which we can only wait and see what they have in plan for us in the future.

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