The fact that Qualcomm has been investing in research and development for RISC-V based solutions for years, it is now known. Now the company led by Cristiano Amon announces the start of an important collaboration with Google, entirely focused on wearable devices of new generation.
Qualcomm will provide a solution for new wearable devices (wearable) entirely based on the platform RISC-V. Google will use it, guaranteeing full support from its operating system Wear OS.
Cos’รจ Wear OS
Wear OS is the operating system for wearable devices developed by Google: it is mainly designed for smartwatches and other products from use on the move, characterized by ease of use and small dimensions. L’user interface of Wear OS is designed to be clear, intuitive and suitable for smaller displays. Users can navigate through notifications, apps and widgets using taps, swipes and, in some cases, voice commands.
The notifications from the associated smartphones are managed directly by the wearable device, which in some cases also includes the possibility of connecting directly to the Internet (via SIM or eSIM).
Wear OS devices also offer the ability to useGoogle assistantto access health and physical activity monitoring, to customize a large number of settings to adapt them to your style and needs, to communicate with a wide range of third-party apps downloadable from the Google Play Store , to exchange data via Bluetooth with Android and iOS.
The RISC-V platform for Google wearables
Google and Qualcomm recently joined together with other industry leaders to launch RISC-V Software Ecosystem (LAUGHS). Explaining what RISC-V is, we have seen that since it is aISA (Instruction Set Architecture) open e royalty-free, there are many manufacturers who have started investing in it to innovate using a “fresh” platform free from the burdens that tend to weigh down x86 and ARM, keeping costs low. Openness, flexibility and scalability of RISC-V benefits the entire supply chain: from silicon suppliers to OEMs, to end devices and then to consumers.
The solution for Wear OS wearable devices will allow manufacturers to bring to market smartwatch with advanced features while significantly reducing the time-to-market.
Qualcomm is not thinking of any name change: the platform Snapdragon Wearablewith the entry of solutions that hinge on RISC-V, is further enriched and evolved, allowing the Wear OS ecosystem to progress rapidly, simplifying the launch of new products.
The adoption of theRISC-V architecture are Android is accelerating and Google has already announced official support for it.
The opening image is from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.