Qualcomm Technologies Inc. said it will further invest in its Snapdragon Wear platform and launched the Qualcomm Wearables Ecosystem Accelerator Program, as the Snapdragon Wear shipments crossed 40 million mark.
The program comprises device manufacturers (ODMs), service providers, platform players, independent hardware and software vendors (IHVs and ISVs), and system integrators who will work together with OEMs to develop and commercialize products and solutions.
As per the chipmaker, more than 60 wearable industry leaders including Arm, BBK, Fossil, Oppo, Verizon, Vodafone, and Zebra will participate in the program.
“We are significantly growing our investments in leading-edge ground-up silicon, platforms, and technologies and plan to roll out new Snapdragon Wear platforms across segments over the next year to meet our long-term vision,” said Pankaj Kedia, senior director & global head, smart wearables, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
According to market analysis firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the wearables market grew 21% year-on-year and it will grow further.
“Innovative form factors continue to emerge as consumers demand new use cases in wearable devices. The smartwatch segment is going well beyond health and fitness tracking, expanding across consumer and enterprise segments, and further fueling growth of the category,’ added said Jitesh Ubrani, Research Manager, WW Mobile Device Trackers, IDC.
“Arm is focused on providing the compute performance and security needed to enable next-generation wearable devices, and through the Qualcomm Wearables Ecosystem Accelerator Program, we will work closely with the wider ecosystem to drive collaboration and change across the industry,” said Ketan Shah, senior director of XR and wearables, Client Line of Business, Arm.
“We are excited to see the launch of the Qualcomm Wearables Ecosystem Accelerator Program, opportunity to collaborate with the broad ecosystem partners to continue to innovate and launch the diverse and innovative wearables products,” added said Farhana Chaudhry, Director of Product Management and Development at Verizon.
“Wearables are a part of the fabric of the next generation of telecommunications and will only be successful by combining the efforts of industry innovators in connectivity, semiconductors, hardware and user experience design,” noted Phil Patel, Global Products & Services Director, Vodafone Group Services GmbH.
