Qualcomm feels heat on wear out OS chips

There are many reasons why Google Wear OS connected watch platform has stagnated over the years, but a major factor was that the majority of its smartwatches worked with Qualcomm processors. But now that Google and Samsung have has teamed up to create a new platform– and the new Samsung watches are supposed to feature a new beefy processor– it looks like Qualcomm is finally feeling the pressure, announcing that it will “roll out new Snapdragon Wear platforms” next year.

The news comes via a Press release announcing the Qualcomm Wearables Ecosystem Acceleration Program. Citing increased interest in the space, Qualcomm says it “is growing dramatically [its] investments in leading edge silicon ”and its accelerator program aim to help wearable manufacturers think about how to deliver a great experience, for less money and with faster production times. More than 60 companies have reportedly signed, including Arm, Fossil, Mobvoi, Oppo, Verizon and Vodafone.

Until now, it was unclear what Qualcomm plans to do after the massive announcement from Google and Samsung that they are teaming up on a new unified portable platform. The new Wear OS is expected to arrive next month on of them Samsung connected watches, but as of yet, there’s no clear timeline as to when existing Wear OS watches might get an upgrade, if they do get one. (Google recently updated the current Wear OS Play Store, hinting that he plans to support the platform for a while.) Meanwhile, Qualcomm’s messaging has been … confuses, To say the least.

One question is what does Qualcomm mean when it says it is rolling out new platforms. If they’re referring to a new SoC, hoo boy. That doesn’t bode well for its current Snapdragon Wear 4100 / 4100+ platform, which has so far only been used in of them smartwatches despite throw over one year ago. The Fossil Gen 6 will likely work on the 4100, as the group has confirmed the watch will work run on the new Wear OS, and yet another flagship watch on the 3100 would be more than ridiculous. Three smartwatches in one year, before releasing a new SoC? It’s not quite admitting failure, but it’s not far.

It also paints a not-so-good picture of the reach of Wear OS. Qualcomm says that over the past five years, it is shipped over 40 million units across 250 portable products. In comparison, Apple delivered 33.9 million Apple watches in 2020 alone, a 19% increase over the previous year. It’s well known that the Apple Watch is the best-selling smartwatch in terms of sales, but it’s a stark illustration of how the gap with Android smartwatches has only grown larger.

There are positive points to be drawn from this. Even though the 4100 platform is ultimately a flop, it’s a good sign that Qualcomm is doing anything. They dragged their feet, waiting for two years to update the 2100 to the 3100 – and even then they were using incredibly outdated technology. The 4100 was a significant leap from the 3100, but even that works on technology that was first introduced over five years ago. We’ll have to see more, as Qualcomm hasn’t impressed in this space for a long time and Samsung has already thrown in the gauntlet with a Rumored 5nm Exynos chip. However, it’s at least an encouraging sign that everyone is aware that this new Wear OS is a crucial opportunity that should not be wasted.