Qualcomm seems to dominating XR headsets. In an interview from CES that only recently surfaced, Hugo Swart, Qualcomm’s VP and GM of its XR efforts, talked with VentureBeat and talked about how the 60+ customers using Qualcomm chips in their XR headsets, the company’s move into AR, and the general trends surrounding these devices.
Qualcomm’s XR efforts fall pretty much in line with what the company has done well in mobile overall. The company has powerful, low power processors, IP that extends into graphics, audio, AI/ML, wireless and cellular technologies like 5G. In other words, more than most companies, Qualcomm can be a one-stop shop for headset vendors. So, there’s a good reason they have so many design wins.
In reality, headsets don’t come anywhere close to the kinds of volumes sees as the second largest supplier of processors into the smartphone market: nearly a third of all smartphones ship with a Qualcomm chipset. There is also a long way to go before we have headsets that are truly ergonomic, ie, not carbuncles of plastic that make you look like someone put a bucket over your head. And, there is the demarcation between XR, AR, and VR. They tend to get lumped in together and the terms are often interchangeable when you looked at the outcome. That just means that no one has quite figured out where to stack their bets. It’s early days so, it is better to be in every market. Be that as it may, Qualcomm may be well positioned to be the system board of headsets, and I use the term system board very broadly. Integrating the system technology into every lighter and thinner glasses is something that only a handful of semiconductor companies have the resources to develop and deliver upon in numbers. It’s right up Qualcomm’s alley.
