Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2, W5 Gen 2 Smartwatch Chips With Satellite Connectivity Unveiled; Debuts on Pixel Watch 4

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 and Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 as its latest wearable platforms on Wednesday. Designed for next-generation smartwatches like the Pixel Wacth 4, these chipsets support satellite connectivity, enabling users to send and receive messages even in areas without cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Built on a 4nm architecture, the Snapdragon W5 Gen is fully compatible with multiple operating systems, including Google's Wear OS. The Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 made its debut with the latest Google Pixel Watch 4 and is expected to power upcoming Wear OS devices.

What's New With Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 and W5 Plus Gen 2?

The new Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 and Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 have been launched as the first wearable platforms to include built-in support for satellite connectivity via Skylo's Narrowband Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN). It enables two-way emergency messaging directly from smartwatches in areas with no cellular coverage. This feature lets users send SOS alerts and receive responses without relying on mobile networks.

Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 and Snapdragon W5 Gen 2
Photo Credit: Qualcomm

The latest platform comes in two variants: the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2, which includes a low-power coprocessor, and the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2. Both are built on a 4nm system-on-chip (SoC) architecture with up to 1.7GHz clock speed.

The new smartwatch chipsets feature Location Machine Learning 3.0 for GPS positioning, which is claimed to offer up to 50 percent improved accuracy compared to our previous generation.

The Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 includes an optimised RF Front End (RFFE) that is advertised to offer a 20 percent reduction in size and lower power consumption compared to our previous generation, enabling OEMs to deliver sleeker wearable designs and extended battery life.

The Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 features Qualcomm's Adreno A702 GPU and LPDDR4-2133 memory. It includes Qualcomm's Hexagon V66K artificial intelligence accelerator and Qualcomm Spectra Image Signal Processor (ISP).

For connectivity, the mobile chipsets provide Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 4, BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, and GPS. It has a wearable-optimised modem and eMMC 4.5GB storage.

On the software front, both platforms support Google's latest Wear OS or Android and the FreeRTOS real-time operating system. It was launched first with the latest Pixel Watch 4.