Qualcomm FastConnect innovation delivers freedom of movement with all-wireless XR

Over the past decade, XR has increasingly gained in popularity — and much is due to the advancement of processors, connectivity, sensors, displays, AI, and other technological innovations that make its application possible. With more than 50 devices launched to date powered by Snapdragon XR Platforms, our investments are translating into exciting new XR experiences for users around the globe.

As a leader in wireless technology, Qualcomm Technologies continues to develop breakthrough innovations that offer users immersive XR experiences — and what could be more immersive than XR with total freedom of movement combined with ultra-rich content, unfettered responsiveness, and uncompromised reliability.   

However, taking all-wireless XR experiences to the next level is not without challenges: 

• Latency must be low and remain low. Even occasional high latency events can make an XR experience glitchy.  

• Need for speed is ever-present, and XR is no different. 

• Battery life is increasingly important. Frequent recharging takes the user out of the immersive experience. 

• Capacity innovation (multi-link concurrency) is critical to ensure smooth experiences with multiple XR sessions, even on congested networks.  

Fortunately, Qualcomm Technologies is backing massive innovation in areas such as uncompromising Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as split rendering architectures (enabling tight coordination between on-device processing and edge cloud processing). These innovations will help ensure that your future travel to the metaverse is all-wireless and truly immersive.  

Complete Wireless XR System 

We’re taking a comprehensive and system-level approach to wireless XR enablement with Qualcomm FastConnect. Our premium FastConnect connectivity systems are joined with our new FastConnect XR Software Suite — and our undisputed wireless pedigree — for a complete system ready to deliver the ultimate wireless XR experience.

FastConnect XR Software Suite 

Our new FastConnect XR Software Suite is packed with advanced features addressing the needs for sustained low latency, longer battery life, and more. The result is a powerful toolkit of premium features for system integrators and app developers that:   

• Allows system integrators better control of XR traffic to improve latency, reduce jitter, and avoid unwanted interference. 

• Prioritizes latency-critical uplink traffic, improving M2R2P (motion-to-render-to-photon) latency. 

• Features preferential channel access and interference mitigation for XR traffic. 

• Includes purpose-built power modes for low power operation, without impacting latency performance.

Leading Wi-Fi connectivity features applied 

FastConnect systems are renowned for delivering premium Wi-Fi performance to users around the globe. The incorporation of our leading Wi-Fi feature profile to XR was a natural step, as our advanced Wi-Fi features address several critical wireless XR challenges that result in:  

• The fastest currently available mobile connectivity speeds in the industry.  

• Advanced two-way traffic management: modulation and multi-band technologies improve robustness and responsiveness. 

• 6 GHz capacity that provides faster, more responsive connections, especially in crowded places or with multiple active XR sessions. 

• Target Wake Time optimizations that build on Wi-Fi 6 sleep cycle technology for longer lasting XR sessions.   

The combination of FastConnect Wi-Fi capabilities and XR take immersive experiences to the next level — capacity increases, latency and jitter drop, and performance and battery life improve.

Bluetooth’s role enabling wireless XR

At Qualcomm Technologies, we’ve indicated that Bluetooth could be the next battleground for mobile due to the clear importance of audio for immersive experiences. With XR, we’re applying leading audio innovation supported by Snapdragon Sound Technology to deliver high quality, robust, and responsive audio for premium wireless XR sessions — where visuals and audio are in perfect harmony. And it doesn’t end there: Our Bluetooth innovation goes beyond audio by dynamically using Bluetooth links to improve power efficiency and the overall user experience.

Automatic XR session activation

• Low power Bluetooth link senses XR device activity and initiates a near-instantaneous Wi-Fi link with no user intervention.

Robust performance spanning all connections in the XR system

• Connectivity expertise is applied for superior management of concurrent Bluetooth audio, Wi-Fi traffic, and controller latency.
• Traffic partitioned and expertly managed for optimal performance across the XR system.

Wire-class Bluetooth audio

• aptX Adaptive for 96kHz/24-bit equivalent sound quality and 80 ms low latency gaming.
• aptX Voice for super wide-band VoIP calls.

Pulling all these Bluetooth capabilities together enhances audio quality, reduces power consumption, and improves the XR device activation experience.

Powerhouse connectivity for XR

Qualcomm Technologies is a wireless connectivity powerhouse equipped to deliver a complete wireless XR system that addresses today’s challenges and creates new opportunities for the next generation of users. Get ready for the next level of immersive XR — and forget about the connection. Whether you’re wired or wireless, latency concerns will fade away — and you can focus on what’s over that next virtual hill.

Snapdragon, Qualcomm FastConnect, Qualcomm aptX, and Snapdragon Sound are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.