Qualcomm Eyes Next-Gen Wearables With Snapdragon Wear 1100

Qualcomm is targeting the next generation of wearables with the new Snapdragon Wear 1100 processor aimed at the purpose-based wearables segment: child- and elderly-friendly watches, fitness trackers, and smart headsets.

With consumer demands in mind—smaller sizes, longer battery life, smarter sensing, more secure locations—the processor features Power Save Mode (PSM) and support for voice, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It also incorporates Qualcomm's iZat integrated location engine for enhanced accuracy, as well as a hardware cryptographic engine, random number generator, and TrustZone for security.

Snapdragon Wear 1100 is commercially available and shipping today.

"We are delighted to add Snapdragon Wear 1100 to our Snapdragon Wear family, thus making it easier for customers to develop connected wearables with targeted use cases such as kid and elderly tracking," Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm IoT, said in a statement.

A companion to the Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor designed for multi-purpose wearables, the new Wear 1100 is already being put to use to power reference platforms by Aricent, Borqs, Informark, and SurfaceInk.

"By wrapping the Snapdragon Wear 1100 with a rich set of modular capabilities such as 3G/LTE, gesture control, and interactive apps, we enable companies to seize opportunities at the best price and performance," said Walid Negm, CTO of Aricent.

Qualcomm recently revealed that its processors power more than 100 current wearable products, covering smart eyewear, watches, bands, handsets, and other accessories. "With the launch of the Snapdragon Wear 1100, customers will now be able to bring additional connected use cases in such targeted devices as kid and elderly watches," Qualcomm added.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.