Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 4100 smartwatch platforms, consisting of Snapdragon Wear 4100+ and Snapdragon Wear 4100. These new smartwatch SoCs are designed for next-generation connected smartwatches and are based on the ultra low power hybrid architecture of Qualcomm. To provide a better context for this press release, let’s dive into the Wear OS background first.
The first Android Wear smart watches were launched in 2014. For a time, Android Wear seemed to be the next big thing after big-screen smartphones. There was the much-hyped first-generation Moto 360, the Android Wear halo watch. There were popular watches released by Huawei, ASUS, and others. Android Wear even hit the market a few months before the Apple Watch. However, all of these initial efforts failed. The second-generation Moto 360 never received an official successor. Other companies withdrew from launching new Android Wear watches. The Apple Watch launched in early 2015, and the rest is history. It is now by far the most popular smartwatch in the world, and the industry consensus agrees that Android Wear, renamed by Google as Wear OS in 2018, is far behind. While Apple is now the world’s largest watch company, Wear OS watches suffer from low-value issues, lack of consumer interest, lack of vision, and much more.
Some of the blame for that falls on Google for not making Wear OS as good as it could be after showing a promise at first. But many reviewers would put a bigger share of the blame on Qualcomm. All Wear OS smartwatches are powered by Qualcomm’s special low-power SoCs. The problem is that Qualcomm had been reluctant to innovate on the SoC front of the smartwatch. The launch of the Snapdragon 3100 in 2018 was just a slight increase over the Snapdragon 2100 in 2016. The Snapdragon 3100 still featured relatively historical ARM Cortex-A7 cores manufactured in a relatively historical 28nm process, at a time when SoC’s Apple’s smart watch and Samsung’s low level -power Exynos SoCs switched to much more efficient 14nm and then 10nm processes. Apple and Samsung are the two main players in the smartwatch market, and both use custom operating systems in the form of watchOS and Tizen, respectively. Wear OS has been a second-class citizen for many years, and users’ interest in the new Wear OS smartwatches is mediocre, to say the least, but it still offers one of the best options that is compatible with Android smartphones. .
However, Qualcomm has not yet given up on the smart watch market.
Almost two years after announcing the Snapdragon Wear 3100, the company released its successor in the form of the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ (yes, this is the chip we first thought would be the Snapdragon Wear 3300). It is the first Qualcomm smartwatch SoC to be performed on a modern process node: 12nm FinFET. It is also the first Qualcomm smartwatch SoC to adopt ARM Cortex-A53 cores, eventually moving from the 32-bit Cortex-A7.
Snapdragon Wear 4100 platforms are said to provide super-fast performance and connectivity, a smarter coprocessor, and ultra-low power platform. Substantial improvements in platform power have been achieved by moving to a 12nm process. This is not cutting edge, as the Samsung Exynos 9110 is produced in a more efficient 10nm process, but it should still provide huge improvements over the 28nm process that powers the Snapdragon Wear 3100.
Qualcomm notes that the wearable device industry has seen strong growth in recent years (even as Wear OS loses steam). According to IDC, the industry is expected to continue to grow at an accelerated rate. Growth has given rise to segments within the industry, as we can now find a range of wearables for adults, children and the elderly, along with specific applications for sports, health, communication and fashion. According to the company, the importance of consumers to public health and wellness will drive accelerated growth in H2 2020 and beyond.
The wearable device segment requires a flexible architecture that delivers great experiences and, at the same time, has longer battery life. Qualcomm believes that the hybrid architecture with a Class A SoC and a Class M coprocessor is best suited to help meet those requirements. To that end, the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ is a high-performance CPU with CPU, GPU, memory, cellular modem, and camera subsystems enhanced in the low 12nm processor process, along with dedicated dual DSPs for modem, location, and sensors. as well as audio.
The Snapdragon Wear 4100+ has an ultra-low power AON coprocessor that downloads a number of use cases including display, sensor, maps, and main CPU time. It also features a stronger AON software interface to manage interactions between the SoC and the coprocessor.
Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 4100+ makes an effort to distinguish itself from its average predecessors. The company says the SoC architecture is designed to offer significant improvements in performance, connectivity, intelligence and power compared to its previous platforms. The SoC smartwatch is based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 429 mobile SoC. The key highlights of both platforms include the following:
Fast performance and connectivity The SoC has quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores. The Cortex-A53 was launched as the successor to the Cortex-A7 in October 2012: it is now seven years old. In the smartphone SoC space, it was succeeded by the ARM Cortex-A55 in May 2017. The Cortex-A53 is still a kernel in order, but most importantly, it is a 64-bit kernel (AArch64). Therefore, the next-gen Wear OS smartwatches will be the first to have a 64-bit CPU architecture. The Cortex-A53 also features decent IPC improvements over the Cortex-A7, so CPU performance will be faster. The cores have a frequency of up to 1.7GHz. Overall, Qualcomm says the SoC offers 85% performance improvements over its predecessor.
Cortex-A53 cores are paired with the Adreno 504 GPU, succeeding the Adreno 304 GPU on the Snapdragon Wear 3100. Qualcomm says this brings 2.5x improvements in GPU performance, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering the age and weakness of the Adreno 304 was. The Snapdragon Wear 4100+ features faster LPDDR3 memory (750MHz) and dual ISPs with support for cameras up to 16MP, although the latest specification is redundant.
The new IP improves the overall user experience of Snapdragon Wear 4100 with faster app launches, concurrent use cases, smoother and more responsive user experience, and richer photo and video experiences, according to Qualcomm.
Connectivity. Qualcomm says the SoC’s 4G LTE mode, based on 12nm technology, has been significantly improved compared to its predecessor, and has a dedicated DSP, low-power features like eDRX, platform-level power management, support for Cat 4/3 / 1 and single / double antennas.
Smarter Always-On Coprocessor (AON). The improved AON coprocessor supports better downloaded experiences. Qualcomm has split memory and performance to allow up to 64K colors, and has expanded download experiences to include continuous heart rate monitoring, health and fitness sleep, faster tilt-to-wake response, step counting , alarms, timers and haptics for more Capable traditional clock mode.
Ultra low power platform. Low-power optimizations include 12nm process technology, dual DSPs for optimal workload partitioning, support for Dynamic Clock and Voltage Scale (DVFS), Qualcomm Sensor Assisted Positioning PDR Wearable 2.0, Tracking support Low-power location and improved Bluetooth 5.0 architecture. Combined, these enhancements are designed to deliver over 25% power reduction in key use cases, providing longer battery life to the platform compared to its predecessors.
“Richer and better experiences”. The hybrid platform on the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ is said to provide rich and enhanced experiences in interactive, environmental, sport and watch modes. Qualcomm details this by explaining that in interactive mode, the platform supports additional “immersive experiences” with camera, voice assistant, and voice / video messaging. In ambient mode, the increase in the number of colors from 16 to 64K and the kerning are designed to improve readability and also offer more exciting design options. In sport mode, downloaded maps enhance the on-the-go experience. Finally, the traditional watch mode includes features such as heart rate, steps, alarms, reminders, and battery indicator with a “minimal impact” on performance or battery life.
Qualcomm says that the The first products based on the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform will ship later this year. Some companies have announced Snapdragon Wear 4100-based smartwatches in concurrence with the Qualcomm upgrade. This includes imoo’s next-gen Z6 Ultra smartwatch based on the Snapdragon Wear 4100. imoo is a leading brand of kids’ smartwatches, and the Z6 Ultra is expected to start shipping next month. It will be the first smartwatch to use Qualcomm’s new platform.
Mobvoi also announces its next generation TicWatch Pro smart watches based on the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform. The company says it is the first brand to announce its next Snapdragon 4100 and Wear OS based watch.
Snapdragon 4100 platforms come in two variants. Snapdragon Wear 4100+ includes the main SoC (SDM429w or SDA429w) and the AON coprocessor (QCC1110), along with complementary chips including PMIC, Modem RF / GPS and Wi-Fi / BT, and RFFE (radio frequency front-end ). The Snapdragon Wear 4100, on the other hand, consists of the main SoC along with complementary chips, which means it lacks the AON coprocessor.
The Snapdragon Wear 4100 platforms are compatible with Google’s AOSP and Wear OS. They are available and are now shipped to consumers. For more information about them, readers can go to the Qualcomm website.
