LAS VEGAS—After enjoying success in smartphones, Qualcomm's Snapdragon mobile processors began invading the nascent world of consumer virtual reality headsets last fall, and they have now set their sights on augmented reality.
At CES here, the San Diego chip maker showed off its first augmented reality glasses geared towards consumers. Made by boutique tech design firm ODG, the glasses are powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. They vaguely resemble the Microsoft HoloLens, one of the few augmented reality glasses with which non-enthusiasts may be familiar.
There are two models, with the $1,000 R8 geared towards mobile gaming and the $1,800 R9 designed for prosumer media applications. Yes, you read those prices correctly: these may be consumer headsets, but their stickers reflect just how early days it is for augmented reality.
What can you do with them? In theory, the possibilities are endless. Think Pokemon Go, but on steroids, or a Google Maps display that is always in your field of view. During my brief demo, I watched a video of an animated world populated with dinosaurs and aliens, all without losing sight of the hotel suite in which I was standing in real life.
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- Eyes On With Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 VR HeadsetEyes On With Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 VR Headset
The resolution looked very good, even on par with a low-end smartphone-powered VR headset like Google Cardboard. In practice, however, your gaming enjoyment will likely be hampered by tinny speakers and a short battery life. While the Snapdragon 835 is designed to maximize power efficiency, there's still the problem of providing power to the HD screen and motion tracking sensors.
Still, if you're the earliest of adopters and are itching to try augmented reality, the ODG glasses are a worthwhile alternative to the developer-focused HoloLens. The R9 will go on sale in the first quarter of 2017, with the R8 shipping by the end of the year.
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