Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2, ‘World’s First’ 5G XR Platform, Announced, Supports 8K 360-Degree Video

Qualcomm has unveiled its new extended reality platform called the Snapdragon XR2 platform. Qualcomm says it’s the world’s first 5G-supported platform, which can be scaled across various uses cases of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). The Snapdragon XR2 promises twice the CPU and GPU performance, four times more video bandwidth, six times higher resolution, and eleven times AI improvement. Qualcomm says that its current working with multiple OEMs for commercialising devices based on the XR2 platform soon. 

The Snapdragon XR2 is positioned as the premium extended reality offering, while the XR platform continues to exist a tier below it. Qualcomm states that the Snapdragon XR2 is the world’s first XR platform with seven concurrent cameras and a dedicated computer vision processor. This is also said to be the first XR platform which enables low-latency camera pass-through for mixed reality use cases. Compared to the Snapdragon 835 mobile XR platform, the new XR2 platform supports 1.5x the pixel rate 3x telex rate for graphics rendering.

The display panel offers up to 3K x 3K resolution per eye at 90fps and the first XR platform to support 8K 360 degree videos at 60fps. The built-in seven cameras are capable of tracking the head, eyes and lips with 26-point skeletal hand tracking. The Hexagon DSP in the Snapdragon XR2 platform supports 3D spatial sound.

XR devices range from standalone headsets to other categories such as ‘XR Viewers,’ where the processing is split between the headset and another device like a 5G smartphone, said Hugo Swart, VP and Head of XR at Qualcomm. ‘Boundless XR’ and ‘Boundless XR with 5G’ are some of the new emerging categories, which won’t require a wired connection between the headset and a 5G device, while still splitting the processing between the two devices so the VR or MR headset can be made slimmer and more portable.

Disclosure: Qualcomm sponsored the correspondent’s flights and hotel for the trip to Snapdragon Tech Summit 2019 in Maui, Hawaii.