Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, signaling a broader ambition for its chips beyond smartwatches and into the emerging category of AI-powered wearables. The new chip, built on a 3nm process, is designed to power devices ranging from AI pins and pendants to smart glasses, according to a company announcement.
Even as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips have long been used in wearables like the Pixel Watch 4 and Ray-Ban Meta glasses, the Wear Elite represents a shift towards prioritizing on-device artificial intelligence. The platform incorporates Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU, a neural processing unit designed for AI tasks, alongside an additional eNPU AI accelerator for low-power applications. Qualcomm claims a five-fold increase in single-thread CPU performance compared to the previous W5 Gen 2 chip, and improvements to the GPU’s maximum frame rate.
The Wear Elite is capable of handling a 2 billion parameter AI model on device, exceeding the 270 million parameter size of Google’s smallest AI model, Gemma. Qualcomm as well highlighted enhanced image stabilization for small cameras, supporting 1080p video capture at 60 frames per second. These features are intended to support AI vision models, though Qualcomm acknowledges the need for a consistent internet connection for many AI applications.
The company is already collaborating with Samsung, Google, and Motorola to integrate the Snapdragon Wear Elite into upcoming devices. John Kehrli, Qualcomm’s senior director of project management, told Gizmodo that the company is in discussions with multiple partners exploring various form factors beyond smart glasses, including devices like Razer’s proposed Project Motoko gaming headset.
The announcement comes amid a mixed reception for early AI wearables. Humane’s AI Pin, which raised $240 million in investment, faced criticism for its reliance on a constant internet connection and overheating issues, ultimately leading to the company’s collapse and sale of assets to HP. Other attempts, such as the Plaud AI Pin and Friend’s AI companion, have also struggled to gain traction.
Qualcomm is positioning the Wear Elite as a platform for innovation, anticipating a diverse range of use cases. Kehrli emphasized that the company isn’t focused on a single application, suggesting that the next device utilizing the chip may take an unexpected form. “What might make sense for you may not make sense for me,” he said.
Recent reports indicate that other tech giants are also exploring AI wearables. The Information reported that OpenAI and designer Jony Ive are developing a device resembling a smart speaker with integrated cameras, while Bloomberg claims Apple is working on an AI pendant similar to the Humane AI Pin, featuring an enhanced Siri.
