Snapdragon Spaces debuts Dual Render Fusion at AWE 2023

Another Augmented World Expo is in the books. Qualcomm Technologies and Snapdragon Spaces™ technology were center stage, participating in AWE 2023 — which took place in Santa Clara, CA May 31 to June 2 and attracted more than 5,000 attendees — as a Titanium sponsor. The weekend was packed to the brim with exciting new product announcements, partner demos, guest appearances from Snapdragon Insiders, and more. 

Without further ado, here’s your AWE 2023 recap.

Snapdragon Spaces Dual Render Fusion

Without a doubt, the biggest news from AWE 2023 was the announcement of the latest Snapdragon Spaces product feature: Dual Render Fusion. Snapdragon Spaces Dual Render Fusion allows XR developers to easily transform their 2D mobile apps into immersive 3D experiences — a huge breakthrough for spatial computing.

So, how does it work? By enabling smartphone screens to function as a primary output for AR applications while AR glasses act as a secondary augmented display. The dual display gives XR developers and end users the ability to run new or existing apps in 2D on their smartphone displays while surfacing additional content in 3D in augmented reality. The smartphone acts as the controller; the AR glasses act as the display. 

For a practical, real-world example: Imagine you’re in the market for a new couch and you want to see what different models will look like in your living space. With Snapdragon Spaces Dual Render Fusion, users can browse a catalog of couches on their smartphones — the controller — and, thanks to AR glasses, can see exactly how each couch fits in their home. Snapdragon Spaces Dual Render Fusion is accelerating innovation in the XR space — and enabling us to more easily merge our physical and digital worlds. 

Snapdragon Insider Jeremy Duncan — @jdunrrp on TikTok and Twitter — gets into Snapdragon Spaces Dual Render Fusion and what makes it “absolutely incredible” in his AWE 2023 Was Insane! YouTube video. The excitement kicks up a notch after Jeremy witnesses a live demo and, later, attends a workshop where he’s able to develop an AR app on the fly. 

Snapdragon Insiders enjoyed the show 

Along with Jeremy, we sent Kevin Breeze (@kevinbreezetv on TikTok and @KevinBreezeTV on Twitter) to AWE 2023 to join in on all of the fun. Check out Kevin’s AWE 2023 vlog for a behind-the-scenes look at the event — from a Topgolf competition to demoing various AR headsets with Snapdragon to an augmented reality cooking tutorial powered by Kittch and Snapdragon Spaces Dual Render Fusion tech.

Major partner announcements

It wouldn’t be AWE without headworn devices — and of course that includes the now iconic Meta Quest. And at AWE 2023, Qualcomm announced that it’s extending its collaboration with Meta, and that the upcoming Meta Quest 3 will be powered by the most powerful Snapdragon XR chipset to date. Together, Snapdragon technology and Meta are powering the future of XR and spatial computing. 

In addition to Meta, OPPO also announced a new device that supports Snapdragon Spaces. The OPPO MR Glass features binocular video pass through tech, and is equipped with two RGB cameras placed directly in front of the user’s eyes, providing a stereoscopic view of the physical world onto which augmented elements can be overlaid. DigiLens and TCL RayNeo — two leaders in the headworn XR industry — also announced that they’re building devices that will support Snapdragon Spaces. 

The XR ecosystem is growing, and it’s doing so because of Snapdragon Spaces. And that was very apparent at AWE 2023. 

To learn more about Qualcomm Technologies and Snapdragon Spaces at AWE 2023, watch the full keynote address.

What’s your favorite moment from AWE 2023? Head over to Discord to discuss.