Qualcomm has unveiled a brand new chipset for wearables, called the Snapdragon Wear 3100, which will use Google’s Wear OS. This is the first chip in years that’s been designed for watches.

Qualcomm states that it built the Snapdragon Wear 3100 from the ground up for smartwatches. Qualcomm also points out that it considered how smartwatches are different from a smartphone while designing this chipset.

The 3100 packs a primary quad-core processor with a QC1110 co-processor. When the watch is in use, the necessary power can be provided. However, an ultra-low power core kicks in to reduce battery consumption when it is on standby. Qualcomm says that its co-processor uses 20 times less power than standard chipsets, which is huge for battery life.

The new platform assists in reducing power usage in areas such as low power modes, GPS tracking, per second clock updates, sensors processing, MP3 playback, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth voice queries. In low power mode, the battery usage supposedly improves by 67% against the Snapdragon Wear 2100.

Next, the chipset also provides new features for Wear OS. An enhanced ambient mode will show colors, complications, adaptive brightness, and a smooth second hand. There is also a sports mode, supporting up to 15 hours of life with GPS and heart rate sensors on. Currently, sports mode kills battery life in less than half that time. Additionally, a Traditional Watch Mode ensures roughly a week-long battery life to the smartwatch by turning off Google’s Wear OS feature. This is basically reverts to smartwatch to basic watch features, and should be helpful in cases of long travels when charging isn’t an easy option.

New watches with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 are already on their way. Partners include watchmakers Fossil Group, Louis Vuitton, and Montblanc. Seeing as this chipset is a huge boost to battery efficiency, however, it’s likely that most new watches will adapt the 3100 in going forward.

(Source: 9to5Google)