Credit: Qualcomm
Qualcomm unveiled its flagship Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, designed for augmented reality headsets.
The chipset focuses on running advanced AI models directly on the device—the company claims 48 TOPS of performance, sufficient for running AI agents and image generation.
The integrated neural processing unit (NPU) delivers 48 TOPS of computing power, enabling it to process complex computer vision and motion tracking algorithms in real time. The company claims that compared to the previous Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, the new platform delivers up to 60% faster GPU performance. CPU performance also improves by up to 30%, while NPU performance increases by up to 160%.
The Snapdragon Reality Elite platform includes the Engine for Visual Analytics (EVA), which provides hardware acceleration for resource-intensive computer vision tasks. It improves depth sensing and head and hand tracking. The new processor supports up to 4.4K resolution per eye at up to 90 fps and also features hardware support for ray tracing. Power efficiency has also improved by 20%.
The company announced that the first device based on the flagship processor will be Project Aura glasses, which Xreal is developing in collaboration with Google.
