Qualcomm has officially unveiled the Snapdragon Wear Elite system-on-chip (SoC) at MWC 2026, aiming to bring flagship-level artificial intelligence and performance to wearable devices. The new chipset is designed to power smartwatches and other emerging AI devices with significant improvements in processing power, battery efficiency, and connectivity.
The Snapdragon Wear Elite features a dedicated Hexagon Neural Processing Unit (NPU) capable of handling on-device AI tasks with support for up to 2 billion parameters. This enables advanced features like context-aware recommendations and natural voice interactions. For low-power operations, an additional eNPU handles always-on tasks such as keyword detection and activity recognition.
Beyond AI, Qualcomm promises substantial hardware upgrades. The new five-core CPU configuration delivers up to five times the performance of previous generations, while graphics see a sevenfold improvement. The company also claims up to 30% better battery life alongside faster charging capabilities.
Connectivity receives a major boost with integrated support for 5G RedCap (for low-power cellular), Bluetooth 6.0, micro-power Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), precise GNSS location tracking, and NB-NTN for satellite-based messaging when traditional networks are unavailable.
While no devices featuring the new chipset are available yet, Qualcomm has announced partnerships with Google, Motorola, and Samsung. The first wave of products powered by the Snapdragon Wear Elite is expected to hit the market in the coming months.