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Microsoft and Qualcomm Partner on Augmented Reality Chip
Microsoft and chip manufacturer Qualcomm are teaming up to bring the metaverse to more consumers and enterprises.
The two companies announced this week at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas their plans to spread the adoption and grow the ecosystem of augmented reality (AR) devices with the creation of a new Snapdragon AR chip aimed at future AR headsets.
"We're announcing that we're developing a custom augmented reality Snapdragon chip for next-generation, power-efficient, very lightweight AR glasses for the Microsoft ecosystem," said Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon during a Tuesday CES presentation. "And 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."
The Snapdragon Spaces XR platform will allow developers to create apps and mixed reality experiences that will be optimized for upcoming devices from hardware manufacturers and
Microsoft. The platform is currently in early rollout to select developers.
Microsoft said that the success of AR relies on industry collaboration, in both hardware and software. That's why Microsoft's Rubén Caballero, corporate vice president Mixed Reality, said the partnership with Qualcomm is so important, not only for Microsoft Mesh, Microsoft's Azure-based AR platform, but for the worldwide adoption of mixed reality technology.
"With services like Microsoft Mesh, we are committed to delivering the safest and most comprehensive set of capabilities to power metaverses that blend the physical and digital worlds, ultimately delivering a shared sense of presence across devices," said Caballero. "We look forward to working with Qualcomm Technologies to help the entire ecosystem unlock the promise of the metaverse."
No further specific details about the upcoming devices or when consumers can expect them were given.