Qualcomm a présenté des lunettes intelligentes au Snapdragon Summit à Hawaï, alliant design futuriste et réalité augmentée. Ces lunettes, bien que perfectibles, incarnent la vision de Qualcomm pour un avenir où les appareils portables interagissent avec une IA réactive, réduisant l’importance des applications traditionnelles. Les lunettes Ray-Ban Meta ont connu un grand succès, tandis que Qualcomm développe des solutions XR pour redéfinir l’interaction utilisateur. Bien que la technologie ne soit pas encore mainstream, l’adoption des lunettes intelligentes devrait croître grâce à des cas d’utilisation améliorés de l’IA.
During the recent Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, I had the opportunity to test Qualcomm’s smart glasses, characterized by a sleek fighter pilot-cum-cyberpunk design, designed to provide answers about objects in my line of sight. While the technology isn’t perfect, it showcases Qualcomm’s ambition to create smart glasses powered by augmented and mixed reality, which could fundamentally transform our interaction with the physical world.
Last year’s summit focused on the introduction of on-device generative AI, but this time Qualcomm emphasized the forthcoming adoption of Agentic AI. This advanced AI is designed to respond to user inquiries by drawing from a variety of data across apps and devices. While smartphones are set to run large language models and do on-device processing, they will increasingly rely on data from wearables and smart glasses for enhanced accuracy. This is Qualcomm’s envisioned trajectory for the future.
The fusion of smart glasses with more reactive AI aims to facilitate a future where we can command our environment rather than merely navigate through applications. According to Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm’s senior vice president and general manager for mobile, compute, and XR, as he discussed with me in Hawaii, ‘Apps will start to mean less and less. They’re not disappearing, but in terms of how you interact with your device, they should.’
Your Apps Are on Borrowed Time. AI Agents Are on the Way
This forecast stretches far into the future, beyond next year. AI agents are anticipated to operate based on the vast amounts of data gathered from the expanding ecosystem of wearable devices. Though smartwatch ownership is rising, their engagement options remain limited. Katouzian didn’t directly claim that smartwatches have reached their peak, but noted their growth potential is not as expansive as that of smart glasses, which could soon integrate functionalities like blood pressure or glucose monitoring.
In contrast, smart glasses promise to revolutionize user interaction with the world. Katouzian mentioned that the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, launched last year with Qualcomm’s AR1 Gen 1 chip and recently updated with AI features, have far surpassed sales expectations, achieving over ten times their initial forecast. ‘Meta is really pushing that market forward,’ he commented, adding that the incorporation of AI in these glasses has significantly boosted their popularity.
Despite the failure of Google Glass to capture consumer interest nearly a decade ago and Magic Leap targeting enterprise markets, Ray-Ban Meta has emerged as the frontrunner, offering a simplified feature set that meets consumer needs. These glasses allow users to ask questions through a voice assistant, make calls, capture images, record videos, and listen to music.
For Qualcomm, the success of Meta’s smart glasses paves the way for more intricate augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (XR) experiences. The company has been enhancing its Snapdragon Spaces platform, refining the software tools available to developers focused on mixed-reality products.
‘There are novel ways to interact with an XR device that aren’t possible on smartphones or laptops,’ Katouzian explained. ‘You must rely on visual inputs, plus head and hand tracking is essential.’
Katouzian disclosed that the community of developers utilizing Snapdragon Spaces SDKs has expanded to over 6,000, with usage data being funneled back to Qualcomm for algorithm improvements. This facilitates offering robust solutions to potential operating system partners, thereby enhancing developer access to innovative tools.
A small sampling of Qualcomm’s XR future
At the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm arranged multiple demonstrations of AR applications and gadgets. Some showcased existing hardware, like the Meta Quest 3 headset exhibiting Qualcomm’s latest automotive chips, while Snap allowed attendees to experiment with its upcoming Spectacles AR glasses powered by unannounced Qualcomm processors. Both devices support hand tracking, but the Spectacles stood out with their precise tracking capabilities, enabling engaging games and immersive experiences.
I also explored Qualcomm’s augmented reality future through a prototype device resembling a blend of Snap Spectacles and traditional aviator sunglasses. This demo aimed to evaluate AI interactions relayed through a nearby reference phone equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip handling on-device AI. Ultimately, the experience is meant to provide a glimpse into how users can pose questions about their surroundings and receive instant answers, similar to what Google is developing with its AI initiative for smart glasses.
The initial experience left something to be desired. In the hotel’s gaming area, I repeatedly inquired about a foosball table in sight. After a few unsuccessful attempts, the glasses identified it as a soccer table and shared game rules. However, when I followed up with questions like ‘what are famous soccer movies,’ I received a lengthy response listing five obscure films. Nevertheless, I found them comfortable to wear, and despite their distinctive aviator style, they felt more user-friendly compared to bulkier smart