Key Takeaways
1. The smartwatch chipset industry is evolving slowly compared to other tech sectors like laptops and smartphones.
2. Samsung’s recent smartwatch models utilize the same Exynos W1000 chipset as last year’s versions, indicating minimal changes.
3. Qualcomm has not introduced a new smartwatch chipset in over three years, with the last being the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1.
4. Qualcomm is working on a new chipset, codenamed SW6100, which may be released as Snapdragon W6 Gen 1, but the timing is uncertain.
5. The SW6100 is expected to provide nearly a 2x performance boost over the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, featuring improved CPU core configurations.
The smartwatch chipset industry is evolving at a much more gradual speed compared to the rapid advancements seen in laptop, smartphone, and tablet chipsets. For example, Samsung recently introduced the Galaxy Watch8, Galaxy Watch8 Classic, and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025, all priced at $649.99 on Amazon. These models utilize the same Exynos W1000 chipset that was used in last year’s versions. Similarly, Apple has shown little variation in its S series chipsets over several generations.
Qualcomm’s Approach
Qualcomm seems to have the most laid-back strategy when it comes to making smartwatch chipsets compared to the other two brands. To summarize, it has been over three years since the company released the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 platform. This platform includes four ARM Cortex-A53 cores running at 1.7 GHz, along with an Adreno 702 GPU built on a 4 nm process. However, Android Authority mentions that Qualcomm is finally gearing up to launch a successor.
The Upcoming SW6100 Chipset
The project, codenamed Aspen, is also known as SW6100. At this moment, Android Authority suggests that this chipset might eventually be launched as the Snapdragon W6 Gen 1. Yet, the exact timing of its release remains uncertain for now.
In addition, the website indicates that Qualcomm is working on the SW6100 using a TSMC node that has not been specified. It will feature LPDDR5X RAM, a new QCC6100 coprocessor, and similar CPU core clusters as the Exynos W1000. Specifically, the SW6100 is expected to have one ARM Cortex-A78 CPU core along with four Cortex-A55 cores. Based on our benchmarks, this change in CPU cores could possibly offer nearly a 2x performance boost compared to the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, using the Exynos W1000 as a reference point. Sadly, more details are still unavailable at this time.
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