Qualcomm announces new Snapdragon XR2 platform to power next gen mixed reality headsets

At Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit today, Qualcomm revealed Snapdragon XR2, the world’s first 5G-supported XR platform. Qualcomm has included several new improvements to enable improved augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences. For example, the new XR2 platform delivers 2x the CPU and GPU performance, 4x more video bandwidth, 6x higher resolution and 11x AI improvement when compared to the existing XR platform. Also, the XR2 platform supports 7 concurrent cameras. Read about about Snapdragon XR2 platform below.

• Visuals: The Snapdragon XR2 Platform takes a leap in core GPU processing by supporting 1.5x the pixel rate and 3x the texel rate for efficient, high graphics rendering. The Snapdragon XR2 display panel offers up to 3K by 3K resolution per eye at 90 frames per second (fps) and is the first XR platform to support 8K 360^o videos at 60 fps for photorealistic visuals in streaming and local playback. Custom silicon was developed for unique AR displays to help reduce overall system latencies to maintain immersive AR experiences.
• Interactivity: The Snapdragon XR2 introduces support for seven concurrent cameras and a custom computer vision processor. Multiple concurrent cameras enable real-time and highly accurate tracking of the head, lips and eyes together with 26-point skeletal hand tracking.
• Audio: The Snapdragon XR2 Platform offers next-level audio layers in a rich, 3D spatial sound while providing crystal-clear voice interactions to deepen immersion. The platform has a custom built always-on, low power Qualcomm Hexagon DSP to support hardware accelerated features like voice activation and context detection to help keep users’ head in the digital world, while having an ear in the real world.
• AI & 5G: Multiple Snapdragon XR2 features have been improved using AI, including visuals, interactivity and audio in order to immerse users in a smarter reality. The Snapdragon XR2 Platform is the world’s first XR platform to support 5G connectivity, which has the potential to unleash a tidal wave of innovative XR experiences that require low latency and ultra-fast data speeds.

Qualcomm mentioned that multiple OEMs are developing products based on Snapdragon XR2 Platform. It is important to note that Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 is not powered by Snapdragon XR platfotm. Instead, Microsoft is using Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Compute Platform along with second-generation custom-built holographic processing unit.

Source: Qualcomm