Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platforms Will Make Upcoming Smartwatches Better Than Ever

Better battery life, faster performance, and a better user experience are just as important for smartwatches as for smartphones. The new Snapdragon W5+ and W5 wearable platforms will provide all of the above in slimmer devices.

Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platforms Will Make Upcoming Smartwatches Better Than Ever

The flagship Snapdragon W5+ wearable platform can lower power consumption by 50% while giving two times higher performance and two times richer features — in a 30% smaller size compared to the previous generation Snapdragon wear 4100+ platform.

Comparison of previous Snapdragon wear 4100+ platform and Snapdragon W5+ wearable platform

The Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 Wearable Platform utilizes an ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.3 architecture, low power islands for Wi-Fi, GNSS, and Audio, and low power states that include Deep Sleep and Hibernate. Low power in this regard means better battery life, so this is a big deal!

Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platforms Will Make Upcoming Smartwatches Better Than Ever

Think about this, if your previous generation Bluetooth smartwatch was able to last 28 hours with a 300mAh battery, the next generation running Snapdragon W5+ will get 15 more hours, for a total of 43 hours of battery life.

But it gets even better.

You might have been able to expect around 36 hours of battery life from a previous generation 4G-connected smartwatch with a 450mAh battery; with the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1, you’ll be able to get an additional 18 more hours for a total of 54 hours of battery life.

A previous generation 4G-connected sports watch with a 600mAh battery would have given about 48 hours of wear, but with the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1, 24 hours more is possible, for a total of 72 hours of battery life.

The new Snapdragon W5+ also promises smoother immersive and interactive experiences, including more responsive app scrolling, smoother video playback, 3D maps and navigation, 2-way video calling, smart device control, and more.

The first smartwatch powered by the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 Wearable Platform will be the Mobvoi TicWatch flagship smartwatch coming out this fall, and you can expect more to follow.

Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platforms Will Make Upcoming Smartwatches Better Than Ever

The OPPO Watch 3 will launch in August as the first smartwatch powered by the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platform. The W5 Wearable Platform is for specific segment markets, including smartwatches made for Kids, Seniors, Health, Enterprise, and China.

You can learn more about the Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Platforms here.

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She started in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie is best known for her device-agnostic approach, deep-dive reviews, and enjoyment of exploring the latest tech, gadgets, and gear.

4 Comments on "Snapdragon W5+ and W5 Gen 1 Wearable Platforms Will Make Upcoming Smartwatches Better Than Ever"

  1. I know Oppo is a significant phone manufacturer in markets outside the US, but all I know about Mobvoi is the name. Qualcomm lists China as a market segment, along with Kids, Seniors, Health and Enterprise?

  2. Yeah, I was surprised by that, too.

  3. For me battery life is key.

  4. I followed you link to watch the video. I think battery life is good but will it come here to compete with apple is yet to be know.

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