Qualcomm launches chip for next-gen Android smartwatches

San Francisco   :   Global chipset-maker Qualcomm has launched a new processor for next generation smartwatches, with extended battery life, ultra-low power system architecture and enhanced always-on display.

The announcement was made at an event where the company also announced its first "SDW3100" customers -- Fossil Group, Louis Vuitton, and Montblanc. 

Called the Snapdragon "Wear 3100" (SDW3011), the chipset offers the "utility of an analogue watch with the flexibility of a smartwatch."

"The 'SDW3100' architecture is designed to combine the beauty of a fashion watch with the power of a smartwatch, the battery life of a sports watch with the richness of a smartwatch, and the utility of an analog watch with the flexibility of a smartwatch -- so consumers enjoy the best of all worlds," the company wrote in a blog post late on Monday. 

"By using a hierarchical approach with the high performance A7 processors, the highly efficient integrated digital signal processor (DSP) and the new ultra-low power co-processor, we look to fundamentally look to re-imagine the smartwatch experience while supporting extended battery life," the firm added.

The chip-maker has adopted a number of low-power techniques to support extended battery life in areas such as GPS, clock updates, sensors processing, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth voice queries and MP3 playback.

Smartwatches with the new chipset are expected to begin rolling out in the fourth quarter of this year, the company added.