Qualcomm and 15 global operators jointly develop XR Viewer products

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, today announced at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) that it will work with global operators, smartphone manufacturers and XR Viewer manufacturers to deliver XR Viewer products to consumers and enterprise users within the next year. Since Qualcomm Technologies announced the launch of XR Viewers that can be connected to 5G smartphones, fifteen operators around the world, including China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, EE, KDDI, KT Telecom, LG Uplus, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, SK Telecom, SoftBank, Telefonica, Verizon and Vodafone, plan to launch samples of XR Viewers and put them into commercial use, thereby providing unprecedented immersive experiences through 5G technology.

As a lightweight head-mounted display device, XR Viewer can be connected to a 5G smartphone equipped with Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 or Snapdragon 865 mobile platform via USB Type-C. The high bandwidth and low latency supported by 5G are crucial for high-quality XR. XR Viewer will open up a new generation of immersive experience with the help of 5G smartphones. With the combined effect of XR and 5G, the way the world connects, communicates and consumes content will be transformed. Consumers' favorite smartphone applications can be presented to them through AR experience, or through virtual collaboration platforms to achieve holographic remote presentation, which will completely change the form of work meetings.

Through the Qualcomm® XR Glasses Adaptation Program, Qualcomm Technologies tests the performance of XR Viewers and confirms the compatibility between XR Viewers and smartphones to ensure that users can enjoy a seamless experience. The program includes two types of certifications for smartphones and XR Viewers, which can support OEMs (including smartphone manufacturers and XR Viewer manufacturers) to verify the adaptation between multiple smartphones and multiple Viewers without the need for one-to-one adaptation. The Qualcomm XR Glasses Adaptation Program includes:

Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) head tracking performance for Viewer and smartphone

Viewer Display Calibration Verification

Verification of motion-to-photon latency on viewers and smartphones

Viewer and smartphone power consumption and heat dissipation test

Interoperability between Viewer and smartphone

Several XR Viewer manufacturers, including 3Glasses, iQiyi, Nreal, OPPO, Panasonic, Pico, and Shadow Creation Technology, are in the process of certification, and after passing the certification, they will quickly deploy devices equipped with Snapdragon mobile platforms in the coming months. Consumers and users can see at a glance the compatibility and adaptation performance of smartphones and XR Viewers with the "Qualcomm XR Optimized" logo. Currently, mobile phone manufacturers including ASUS, Black Shark, OnePlus, OPPO, Smartisan, vivo, and ZTE plan to provide users with a new XR experience through 5G smartphones that support Viewers, and more OEM manufacturers will join in succession.

As 5G expands around the world, the XR ecosystem is ready to combine excellent cellular connectivity, high-quality hardware, and top-level XR devices. Whether indoors or outdoors, XR experiences are expected to scale globally, and we look forward to more people experiencing the new "extended reality" next year.

Partner Quotes

3Glasses

Wang Jie, founder and CEO of 3Glasses, said: "As an important partner of Qualcomm's XR Glasses Adaptation Program, 3Glasses is the first in the industry to launch VR glasses that connect to 5G smartphones equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865/855 mobile platforms. At present, we are actively cooperating with China's three major operators, and have also begun to reach business cooperation with many mobile phone brand manufacturers to promote the connection with more 5G mobile phones in the new 3Glasses X1S product to be launched in Q3 2020. Qualcomm's XR Glasses Adaptation Program for XR Viewers can connect ultra-thin VR glasses to 5G mobile phones, making it the most suitable product form for consumers in the 5G era. 3Glasses will continue to work with Qualcomm Technologies, 5G mobile phone manufacturers and operators to allow more people to enjoy the beauty of virtual reality anytime, anywhere."

ASUS

“The ROG brand is committed to providing hardware products for extreme gamers, and our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on ROG phones also reflects this concept,” said Bryan Chang, general manager of ASUS Mobile Business Unit. “The Qualcomm XR Glasses Adaptation Program is crucial in helping ROG phones be compatible with XR Viewers. We look forward to bringing more immersive gaming experiences through XR devices, and we look forward to working with more mobile XR ecosystem partners in the future.”

Black Shark

Song Gang, vice president of Black Shark Product Center, said: "Many of the most popular mobile games are flat-screen games, which limits players from enjoying a fully immersive experience, especially in terms of control, hearing and visual experience. The high bandwidth and low latency brought by 5G are very suitable for XR technology. Black Shark believes that starting from 2020, games equipped with XR technology will definitely bring players a subversive gaming experience and will be of great appeal to gamers. As a gaming equipment manufacturer and a strategic partner of Tencent Games, Black Shark is very willing to stand from the perspective of gaming, combine cloud gaming, Qualcomm Technologies' XR glasses adaptation plan for XR Viewer, mobile phones, peripherals, and Qualcomm Technologies to promote the application of XR technology in the gaming field."

China Mobile

Wang Hengjiang, deputy general manager of China Mobile Terminal Company, said: "XR is one of the first 'killer' applications of 5G and one of China Mobile's key businesses in the 5G era. China Mobile will work with Qualcomm Technologies and other companies to continuously explore the technical innovation and application of '5G+XR'. Combined with the XR Viewer launched by Qualcomm Technologies, we will bring more new views and new ways of playing 5G to end users in 2020, opening up a new XR vision."

China Telecom

Chen Li, deputy general manager of China Telecom Tianyi Terminal Company, said: “As a ‘universal technology’ like electricity and steam engines, 5G has become a new driving force for social and economic development. We are very pleased to combine China Telecom’s 5G and cloud network integration advantages with Qualcomm Technologies’ top XR technology, give full play to our respective technical expertise, and jointly promote the implementation of 5G+XR in the fields of industry, medical care, education and consumption in 2020.”

China Unicom

Chen Fengwei, deputy general manager of China Unicom’s Terminal and Channel Support Center and deputy general manager of Huasheng Company, said: “The high bandwidth and low latency characteristics of 5G combined with the immersive and interactive experience of XR will bring tremendous changes to the entire industry. China Unicom has joined hands with 21 XR industry chain partners including Qualcomm Technologies to build the 5G XR terminal ecosystem alliance. Qualcomm Technologies promotes the commercialization of XR Viewer for 5G smartphones, including the Qualcomm XR glasses adaptation plan, which will help us achieve the gradual maturity of the 5G XR ecosystem and launch related products as planned in 2020.”

Germany Telecom

“Deutsche Telekom and Qualcomm Technologies have a strong strategic partnership to drive innovation in the industry. We both believe that XR will soon fundamentally change the way people interact. XR Viewer can take advantage of the capabilities of smartphones, which is another big step forward in bringing advanced technology to the mass market,” said Sean Seaton, senior vice president of group partnerships and devices at Deutsche Telekom. “On the one hand, Deutsche Telekom is working with leading XR Viewer partners such as Nreal to unleash the full potential of XR, and on the other hand, we are working with Qualcomm Technologies to ensure good compatibility and interoperability between smartphones and XR Viewer. In the future, Deutsche Telekom will contribute to the XR ecosystem in many aspects such as edge computing, 5G, and optimal home connectivity together with many key network providers, and will promote the integration of XR with premium content such as music, concerts, sports events and games. We are developing an exciting integrated XR service, so stay tuned.”

HTC

“HTC VIVE believes that the combination of 5G and XR technology is the foundation for a new round of technological development,” said Zhihua Wang, vice president of VIVE Wave Ecosystem. “With the Wave development platform provided by VIVE, we can easily expand Snapdragon technology to a wide range of operator deployments, allowing operators to use cutting-edge XR hardware and content to create immersive experiences.”

iQIYI Intelligence

Xiong Wen, CEO of iQIYI Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., said: "As a deep partner of Qualcomm Technologies, iQIYI Intelligent has fully deployed its XR strategy, including its own brand Qiyu AR and VRGlass products, which use a split design to connect to 5G mobile phones and use ultra-thin optical technology to achieve an ultra-light wearing experience in the form of glasses, connecting iQIYI platform content and multi-screen scenarios such as web pages/documents/movies/mobile games/email/WeChat video chats, becoming a personal holographic interconnection space anytime and anywhere under the 5G ecosystem, allowing 5G+VR/AR to enter consumers' lives more quickly."

KDDI

“For many years, we have been working towards making 5G and XR a key business strategy for KDDI, and we are very much looking forward to integrating telecommunications technology and lifestyle products and making it a reality in 2020,” said Shinya Muramoto, Deputy General Manager of Business and Service Development Division, Personal Business Unit, KDDI Corporation. “With the official commercialization of 5G in Japan in March 2020, the more than 20-year partnership between KDDI and Qualcomm Technologies has entered a new stage. We are pleased that the two parties will jointly launch XR services this year to bring transformative experiences to users.”