Qualcomm has more to offer than just Snapdragon chips for mobile smartphones. While the company has been collecting good results from the trending Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, it has recently revamped its offerings for the wearable market. The US-based chipmaker has introduced the Snapdragon W5 and W5+ wearable chipsets. These chipsets leave the “Wear” identity to some leaner such as “W5”. A few hours after the launch of these SoCs, wearable makers started to tease upcoming products. Mobvoi was one the first, teasing a new Ticwatch on the platform. However, it seems that Oppo will be the first to unleash a smartwatch with this processor, the Oppo Watch 3.
Oppo Watch 3 will debut the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 wearable
The Oppo Watch 3 will come in August and is running to be the first with the platform. Oppo’s Associate Vice President and President of IoT Business Franco Li refers to the Watch 3 as a series. Therefore, we expect more than one model. However, at least one of them will mark the debut of the Snapdragon W5 platform in an actual product.
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For now, it’s unclear whether or not the Oppo Watch 3 will reach a global audience. Hopefully, Oppo will bring the new wearables to global markets. After all, it’s good to have more options in a competitive market. Qualcomm promises solid battery improvements with its new processors. Customers will certainly want to taste this new processor as soon as possible to judge if they may be definitive options to push the company’s presence in the segment forward.
As aforementioned, the TicWatch flagship smartwatch will also bring the Snapdragon W5 series. However, the new wearable that may launch sometime this Fall, may actually bring the Snapdragon W5+. The wearable will likely come with the TicWatch Pro 4 moniker. So Oppo is debuting the vanilla, and Mobvoi is bringing the Plus tier. Of course, there is a long road for these chipsets. After all, several wearable makers are sticking with older generations. The Oppo Watch 3 will be first, but we expect the Snapdragon W5 on a lot of smartwatches in 2023.
As for the Oppo Watch 3, the rumors point out three models. The three Watch 3 series models will come with an impressive screen-to-body ratio and multiple colorways. If it reaches Europe, we may even see a UEFA special edition due to the new partnership.
