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

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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 got her start 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 has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.

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. For me battery life is key.

  3. 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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