At the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, the new chips for wearable audio and PCs focus on the same idea: running artificial intelligence on the device, without always passing through distant servers
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So far, the artificial intelligence we use almost all lives in data centers: we write a request, it goes to a server, the response comes back. Qualcomm, which designs the processors in many smartphones, says an increasing portion of this work will move inside devices. At the Snapdragon Summit underway in Maui (here are all yesterday's announcements on the new processors), in which Sky TG24 was invited to participate, it showed it on two very different terrains: earphones and laptops. The principle is called "A.I. on the device" (on-device), the advantages are greater privacy, less waiting, less dependence on the connection. An ecosystem in which the smartphone is at the center, but not only: there are more and more personal devices such as smart glasses, headphones, watches, rings, pendants: they see what we see, they listen to what we listen to, they feel what we feel. And thanks to agents they become increasingly useful tools.
The A.I. on wearable devices
This type of objects will be able to understand the world around us, process it, connect information with all other devices. Micro NPUs (i.e. micro AI processing units) will offer ever greater possibilities and Qualcomm is working to accelerate this ecosystem. Just to give a few examples: the new wearables will allow us to capture images in an increasingly clear and natural way, they will be able to listen and respond for us, they will help us get information on what we are looking at. Glasses will be able to help us navigate better, book the restaurant we are looking at, give us information on the monument in front of us, translate foreign languages for us. They will allow you to be fully present by processing information for us. And let's think about blind people: they will be able to be a little more independent thanks to a chip that describes what is in front of their eyes (a red traffic light, food, stairs). We don't need more technology - they explain from Qualcomm during the Summit - but smaller and more efficient models. Snapdragon offers two small 1-bit chips (AR1 and AR1+): partners include Meta, with its glasses, SPECS, with augmented reality glasses, Samsung with its wearables and Google, which has updated the Android XR platform in partnership with Qualcomm and Samsung. And then there are the INSPECS protective glasses, for professionals and the medical sector: they integrate lights, cameras, microphones and all the safety of work tools. Finally, in the future, pins will also multiply, capable of memorizing everything we do and helping us when we need it. Qualcomm has shown a taste of it but it will probably be the theme of next year.
Earphones as an interface
But an even more important news comes from Maui, and it concerns the audio sector. It's called Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, a platform designed for manufacturers of earphones, headphones and audio glasses, increasingly popular and commonly used objects. Qualcomm presents it as the first designed for "personal" artificial intelligence: the idea is that the headset, worn for many hours during the day, becomes our interface with the virtual assistant, without necessarily having to look at a screen. And this is not a gamble: according to research by Qualcomm itself, up to 70 percent of users look for advanced artificial intelligence functions in wearable devices. It is on these premises that the new Snapdragon Sound Elite was presented: it promises double the artificial intelligence capabilities of its predecessor (Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 Sound), up to 40 percent less consumption and up to 30 percent less space. Perhaps the most interesting news is the presence of integrated Wi-Fi: today earphones almost always connect to the phone via Bluetooth; with Wi-Fi, however, they can "talk" directly with online services, without using their smartphone. This is how it will be possible to build apps and agents (also through the Qualcomm Apps&Agents platform) that live inside the earphones, update themselves independently and are independent of smartphones. There is no shortage of classic audio functions, obviously improved: new generation adaptive noise cancellation, which adjusts to the movement and shape of the ear, technologies to isolate the voice, music of increasingly higher quality. Then there is the camera: the new chips support micro-cameras that will be installed on the headphones and which will allow information on the context around the user to be collected.
From ear to health
Along the same lines is the Personal AI Health Alliance, launched by Qualcomm with Global Health Connector: it brings together healthcare professionals and companies, with the aim of accelerating the use of wearable devices with AI. to collect ongoing health data. Processing directly on the device, Qualcomm explains, can reduce exposure to third parties and improve the quality of data collection. At the moment, however, neither devices nor supporting clinical data have been presented.
The laptop that thinks for itself
The other important novelty of the Snapdragon Summit is called Snapdragon The platform aims to combine high performance and low consumption, also extending support to new types of notebooks, designed for AI. of Gemini, and strengthening the ecosystem with native Linux support. As has already happened with smartphones and wearable objects, the goal is to transform the PC into a personal assistant that is always active and capable of carrying out complex tasks without constantly depending on the cloud. Qualcomm's partners include Lenovo (with the new and colorful IdeaPad Vibe), Google with the new Googlebooks (which will unite the world of ChromeOS and Android even better), ASUS, HP.
What's new on Microsoft Surface
Among the PCs presented on Maui, Microsoft's new 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop stand out. Both integrate the new six-core Snapdragon X2 chip with A.I. units. of 80 tops. They have a fanless design, promise greater energy efficiency, faster graphics and up to 95 percent faster local artificial intelligence. Among the "goodies" of the new Microsoft PCs, particular attention to haptic feedback: pen, mouse and trackpad "pulse" when we carry out certain actions.
