Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon Chip Paves the Way for More Compact XR Headsets and Glasses

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Qualcomm announced at Augmented World Expo (AWE) Snapdragon Reality Elite, a new processor which aims to slim down XR headsets and glasses of the near future.

Focusing on on-device AI, improved performance, and lower power consumption, Qualcomm says Snapdragon Reality Elite is targeting both standalone XR headsets and lightweight tethered AR glasses.

The company said this could support applications such as AI assistants, photorealistic avatars, and real-time generation of digital objects within mixed reality environments, as Snapdragon Reality Elite is quoted to deliver up to 48 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI performance, enabling large language models (LLMs) and large vision models (LVMs) to run directly on-device, cloud processing required.

Snapdragon Reality Elite—essentially the naming scheme for Snapdragon XR2 Gen 3—is also said to include upgrades to tracking and perception capabilities too, with improvements to hand and head tracking as well as optical passthrough designed to better integrate digital content with the physical world.

In terms of raw performance, Qualcomm says the new chipset offers up to a 60% increase in GPU performance, a 30% increase in CPU performance, and a 160% increase in neural processing performance compared with Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, which was released in 2024.

As for display capabilities, Snapdragon Reality Elite supports resolutions of up to 4.4K per eye at 90 frames per second. Qualcomm said it has also reduced latency and improved image quality for mixed reality experiences through additional hardware acceleration for computer vision workloads

Qualcomm says the new chipset can deliver up to 20% longer battery life under the same workload and—probably more importantly—can operate up to 12 degrees C (~53 degrees F) cooler under load, which is paving the way for lighter and more comfortable XR headsets and glasses.

“XR adoption continues to expand, with more than 60 million devices already in market and growing momentum across industries.” said Ziad Asghar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of XR, Wearables and Personal AI. “As more advanced and integrated XR platforms are developed, demand is increasing for XR technologies that deliver higher performance, greater intelligence, and improved power efficiency. Snapdragon Reality Elite is designed to meet those demands with powerful on-device AI, enabling faster, longer-lasting, and more immersive experiences, and reinforcing our leadership in VR and MR as we build purpose-built XR chipsets from the ground up.”

Along with its various concept devices, Qualcomm’s new chip is almost always a prescient indicator of what the next few years of XR devices is likely to be. In that respect, Snapdragon Reality Elite natively supports Google’s Android XR operating system, and is slated to debut in a number of upcoming devices, including the XREAL Aura AR glasses and a future headset from Play for Dream, with more to be revealed soon.

Check out Snapdragon Reality Elite’s spec sheet below, courtesy Qualcomm:

Snapdragon Reality Elite Platform Specifications

Artificial Intelligence

• Qualcomm® Hexagon Processor
  • Fused AI Accelerator Architecture
  • Qualcomm® Hexagon Vector eXtensions
  • Qualcomm® Hexagon Scalar Accelerator
  • Qualcomm® Hexagon Matrix eXtensions
• Qualcomm® Adreno GPU
• Qualcomm® Kryo CPU

On-device display support

• Up to 4.4K x 4.4K per eye @ 90 Hz
• 4x DSI
• 2x eDP
• 1x DP1.4 over USB

CPU

• Qualcomm Kryo CPU
• 4 + 2 performance cores
• Up to 2.9 GHz

Qualcomm Spectra Image Signal Processor

• Support for 12 concurrent cameras
• 2x IFE for 12 MP @ 90 FPS Bayer for video-see-through
• 10x IFE-Lite for 720P @ 120 FPS mono for perception
• Additional camera support through multi-drop or aggregation
• Inline spatial noise reduction for low-latency video-see-through

Computer Vision

• Engine for Visual Analytics with dedicated computer vision hardware
• General purpose warper
• Triangulation
• Inverse triangulation
• Optical flow
• SLAM
• 3DR

Video

• 8K60 decode
• 8K30 encode
• Low-latency slice-based decoding
• AVC, HEVC, VP9, and AV1 decode

Audio

• Qualcomm® Hexagon DSP
• Embedded neural processing unit
• Qualcomm® Sensor Hub
• Voice UI
• Spatial audio / recording

Adreno GPU

• Up to 11% higher GPU frequency max
• 12 MB high-performance memory

Qualcomm® FastConnect 7800 Mobile Connectivity System

• Wi-Fi Generation: Wi-Fi 7
• Peak speed: 5.8 Gbps
• Wi-Fi Security:
  • WPA3-Enterprise
  • WPA3-Enhanced Open
  • WPA3 Easy Connect
  • WPA3-Personal
• High-Band Simultaneous Multi-Link

Integrated Bluetooth

• Bluetooth 6.0
• Dual antenna Bluetooth

Security

• Secure Boot
• Secure Debug
• Trust Zone
• Hardware Root of Trust
• Full DDR Encryption
• Secure Processor
• Trusted VM

Memory

• 4×16 LP-DDR5 memory
• Up to 4.2 GHz
• 8 MB system cache (LLC)

General Specifications

• Storage: UFS 4.0, SD 3.0 / SDExpress 7.0
• Peripherals: 2x USB3.1, 3x PCIe

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Snap Reveals Next-gen Specs AR Glasses, Priced at $2,200

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Snap today unveiled its first pair of standalone AR glasses intended for consumers, which the company says will pack in a variety of features, including AI assistance, entertainment, and productivity tools.

Snap showed off its latest pair of AR glasses today at Augmented World Expo (AWE) 2026, technically making it the sixth generation device to sport the ‘Specs’ name.

Like the fifth-gen Specs released in 2024, Specs don’t require an external compute puck or tethered connection to external devices, as the glasses pack in two Qualcomm Snapdragon processors—one dedicated to computer vision and another for running AR experiences, or “Lenses,” as the company calls them.

Courtesy Snap

The AR glasses feature Snap’s proprietary liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display tech, offering a 51-degree field-of-view (FOV) and 16 million colors. Notably, that 51-degree FOV is said to provide a 30% larger display area than fifth-gen Specs.

There’s still no word on a few other key specs however, including resolution, brightness, refresh rate, RAM/storage sizes, camera specs, wireless standards, water resistance rating, and actual mAh battery capacity. You can see a more condensed spec sheet at the bottom of the article with everything we know so far.

What we do know however is Snap is hoping users don’t just stay indoors for room-scale AR interactions, as Specs come with electrochromic lenses that can transition from clear to tinted in 10 seconds, the company says, noting its displays can deliver 7-millisecond motion-to-photon latency. Additionally, a Snap spokesperson told Road to VR Specs are “designed to work outside and inside.”

Courtesy Snap

As it is, Specs are rated to deliver up to four hours of “mixed-use” battery life, with an included charging case extending total usage to around 20 hours, putting it fairly close to the “all-day” device category.

Built from Swiss TR90 polymer, Specs are also slated to come in two sizes, weighing 132 grams and 136 grams respectively, making them essentially 40% lighter than the fifth-gen version. Prescription inserts are also supported, and will include multiple nose pads for better individual fit, Snap tells Road to VR.

Courtesy Snap

Snap also emphasized privacy features, including on-device processing, permission prompts for sensitive information, and an LED indicator when recording is active.

The company says developers have already created hundreds of experiences for Specs, ranging from golf guidance and educational applications to immersive historical experiences. New development tools announced today include agentic development support in Lens Studio through integrations with Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor, as well as a new Native Development Kit.

While it seems users will be able to find a good number of AR Lenses, Snap ostensibly hopes one of its biggest draws will be AI integration.

“With SPECS, AI isn’t limited to a text box. It can see what you see, understand what you’re trying to accomplish, and help in the moment,” the company says. “That means guidance can appear exactly where it’s needed, information can be connected to the objects and places around you, and developers can build experiences that respond intelligently to the real world in real time. We believe AI and augmented reality are a natural fit because both help people better understand and interact with the world around them. Of course, technology like this only works when people trust it.”

We still haven’t had a chance to experience the latest iteration of Specs, as the company is using AWE as a venue for a general announcement, and not media demos as such.

In any case, we expect to hear a lot more about Specs between now and its fall shipping window. In the meantime, customers across the US, UK, and France can now pre-order for $2,195 ($200 refundable deposit).

SPECS (sixth-gen) Specs

Field of View	51°
Color Reproduction	16 million colors
Lens Type	Electrochromic (auto-tinting)
Tint Transition	10 seconds
Processors	Dual Qualcomm Snapdragon chips
Motion-to-Photon Latency	7 ms
Battery Life	Up to 4 hours mixed use, 20 hours with case
Input	Hand tracking
Material	TR90 polymer
Sizes	47 mm and 52 mm
Weight	132 g (47 mm), 136 g (52 mm)
Prescription Support	Removable prescription inserts
Display Technology	LCoS
Connectivity Features	Bluetooth notifications
Privacy Features	On-device processing, recording indicator LED
Price	$2,195 USD
Availability	Shipping expected Fall 2026
Launch Markets	US, UK, France

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Raven Prism Smart Glasses Announced with Unique Hot-swappable Battery

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Raven Resonance is showing off its upcoming smart glasses, Raven Prism, which aim to stay with users all day long thanks to a unique hot-swappable battery system.

The San Francisco-based startup is publicly demoing Raven Prism for the first time today at Augmented World Expo (AWE) starting today, which is taking place June 16th – 18th in Long Beach, California.

Planned to launch later this year, Raven Prism—or what the company calls an “ambient computer”—offers more than just a handy hot-swappable battery system, which the company says lets users replace without interrupting apps or requiring shutdowns and reboots.

The glasses are also slated to pack in a feature set rarely seen in smart glasses today. Running RavenOS, the company’s 64-bit Linux-based operating system, Raven Prism features a full-color LCoS display delivered through a single waveguide in the right eye, integrated eye tracking for hands-free interaction, and an onboard camera with visible capture light that also includes a physical privacy cover.

And privacy is a major focus for the company.

“Privacy is a foundational design principle of Raven Prism,” the company says. “Eye control data is processed locally on the device, no user data is transmitted off-device without explicit user consent and core AI capabilities are designed to run locally whenever possible. Unlike many connected wearables that rely heavily on cloud infrastructure, Raven Prism was designed to perform as much computation as possible locally, keeping user data under the user’s control and reducing dependence on remote infrastructure. Raven Resonance believes privacy should be enforced through hardware and software architecture rather than policies.”

Thomas Suarez | Courtesy Raven Resonance

Unlike many smart glasses that rely on a tethered smartphone, Raven Prism is a standalone device powered by an onboard quad-core 64-bit ARM processor and will be available in multiple RAM configurations. The device natively supports Linux ARM64 applications and SSH access, positioning it as a more open and dev-friendly platform than most consumer smart glasses.

It’s also set to ship with more than 25 applications, also providing low-level access to the OS, creating a flexible platform, which the company says is being targeted at creative professionals, makers, developers and enterprise users.

“For decades, the personal computer has been confined to a desk, a pocket or a bag,” Raven Resonance co-founder and CEO Thomas Suarez says. “We believe the next era is ambient computing—technology that remains available when you need it, while staying out of the way when you don’t. Raven Prism gives users a powerful, open computing platform they can access hands-free throughout the day—from Claude Code to creative applications and more. Put simply, Raven Prism is not a pair of smart glasses: it is a powerful, privacy-first eye-controlled Linux computer that happens to take the form of eyewear.”

The company plans to officially launch Raven Prism later in 2026, with additional details regarding availability, pricing, and developer programs to be announced closer to launch.

The post Raven Prism Smart Glasses Announced with Unique Hot-swappable Battery appeared first on Road to VR.

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‘Wanderer 2’ Cancelled Amid “volatile” VR Gaming Market

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Mighty Eyes announced it will longer be developing its previously announced sequel to VR action-adventure Wander: The Fragments of Fate (2025), citing a “volatile” VR gaming market.

The studio released word via its official Discord, noting that not only is Wanderer 2: The Seas of Fortune no longer in production, but that all future updates for Wander: The Fragments of Fate will effectively come to an end too.

“The last few years have been tough. For VR as a market, for Wanderer, and for our studio,” Mighty Eyes says. “We had ambitious plans and for the most part we think we executed them as well as we could. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. The game performed solidly on console but we just didn’t see the mobile uptake we’d counted on. What we’d banked on didn’t pay off.”

Initially released in 2022 as Wanderer, the studio would go on to essentially re-release the time-travel adventure only a short three years later under the name Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate, which included an overhaul to gameplay, content, visuals, and support for PSVR 2.

In 2024—before the re-release of Wanderer even arrived—the studio announced it was already working on its sequel, which promised to bring a new pirate theme to the franchise, which was slated to bring players to 1750s Jamaica at the tail end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

In the Discord announcement, the studio also revealed Wanderer benefitted greatly from Sony’s support, with additional help from Meta and Pico.

This follows a number of similar cancellations in the VR games industry, which includes a Harry Potter VR game from Skydance, a “major” VR game from Moss developer Polyarc Games, and a Batman: Arkham VR sequel from now-shuttered Meta studio Sanzaru Games.

Check out the full message below, courtesy eagle-eyed Redditor ‘Unfallener’:

Hey everyone, and thanks as always for your patience while we worked through the future of the Wanderer IP.

Unfortunately it’s not good news and while we suspect it’s not entirely unexpected, it’s still really hard for us to share.

The last few years have been tough. For VR as a market, for Wanderer, and for our studio. We had ambitious plans and for the most part we think we executed them as well as we could. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. The game performed solidly on console but we just didn’t see the mobile uptake we’d counted on. What we’d banked on didn’t pay off.

We’re eternally grateful for the chance Sony took on us – their belief in this IP from the start (and their continued commitment) made so much of what we achieved possible. We’re also thankful and humbled by the support we received from Meta and Pico along the way. There are genuinely good people behind these platforms who backed us through and through.

We’re still figuring out what’s next for Mighty Eyes amidst this (very) volatile market. But we won’t be developing Wanderer 2, and ongoing support for Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate isn’t something we’re able to continue.

Wanderer has given us some career (life!) highlights. A GOTY nomination, consistently named as one of the top adventure games in VR – this type of stuff doesn’t happen without a team that poured years of blood, sweat and tears into something we all believed in. We’re proud of what we made, and deeply grateful to everyone who was a part of building it.

And that includes our community. The support, feedback, criticism, and the passion – it all pushed us to make a better game. So many of you stuck with us through the rough patches, warts and all, and that loyalty genuinely means everything. Thank you. We know it’s not always easy supporting from the sidelines.

One last thing, and this goes beyond Wanderer – if you love games, please support them. Put your money where your wishlist is – buy the games you want to see more of. Leave reviews, even critical ones help developers understand what’s working (and what’s not). Talk about the games you love, share them, recommend them. For an indie studio, sales aren’t a nice-to-have, they are everything. The whole ecosystem depends on people showing up. So please keep supporting the games and developers you believe in.

Thanks again – The Mighty Eyes team

PS: Please understand if we are unable to respond to every message but, we’re reading them all.

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Snap Teases Next-gen ‘Specs’ AR Glasses Ahead of June 16th Reveal

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Snapchat parent Snap is nearing the long-awaited reveal of Specs, its next pair of AR glasses, as the company says we should keep our eyes peeled come June 16th.

Specs Inc, the company’s new XR subsidiary, showed off a (very) brief glimpse of the device via Instagram on Friday, which notably included “06.16” at the end.

View this post on Instagram

The company additionally confirmed it’s publicly revealing the device on the June 16th at Augmented World Expo (AWE), which has become a prime venue for XR announcements over the past few years. AWE goes from June 15th – 18th, taking place in Long Beach, California.

Notably, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is also set to deliver a keynote there, titled ‘Making Computing More Human‘, making it a fairly certain we’ll hear more about the company’s expectations for its next pair of AR glasses, set to be its sixth-gen device.

The fifth-gen Specs (seen below) were released in 2024 primarily for developers, ostensibly making its sixth-gen the first from the company specifically targeted at consumers.

Snap Spectacles (gen 5) | Courtesy Snap Inc

And while we don’t know the specs behind Specs just yet, the company says it’s emphasizing the device’s built-in AI, something that “uses its understanding of you and your world to help get things done on your behalf while protecting and respecting your privacy.”

The reveal of Specs does come amid some turbulence though. In April, Snap laid off around 1,000 employees and closed hundreds of open roles. Layoffs haven’t largely affected Specs Inc however, which was spun up in January to allow the company to form new partnerships, have more capital flexibility, and, more importantly, insulate its AR business.

This follows Snap’s acquisiton of Illumix, a spatial mapping company and developers behind Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery (2019), which is said to boost the company’s AR efforts.

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Steam Frame is Poised for Launch as Units Begin Reaching the US

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According to recent import records, Valve seems to be gearing up for the imminent launch of Steam Frame.

As spotted by XR analyst Brad Lynch, Valve has imported a large number “virtual reality devices” to its US-based warehouses, which can be none other than its long-awaited Steam Frame standalone VR headset.

The first Steam Frame imports arriving in Valve’s USA Warehouses pic.twitter.com/TfEO9SPo0b

— Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) June 12, 2026

As per the public records, Valve has imported some 32,000 kg (~35 US tons) of the VR devices in question, which was notably one week after the company imported 40,000 kg (~44 US tons) of “game consoles,” unmistakably its Steam Machine Linux-based PC.

In recap: Steam Frame is Valve’s VR headset which can wirelessly tether to a PC for low-latency game streaming, and work in standalone mode, making it capable of downloading and playing both traditional flatscreen games and SteamVR games optimized to work on its onboard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.

Courtesy Valve

It also sports dual 2,160 × 2,160 per-eye LCD displays, up to a 144 Hz refresh rate, eye-tracking, optical inside-out tracking, and runs its Linux-based SteamOS with built-in Proton compatibility layer, making it capable of natively running games originally designed for Windows.

Really all that’s left is the exact release date and pricing, the latter of which could be one of the biggest sticking points for both Steam Frame and Steam Machine. Valve announced earlier this year would be delayed due to the ongoing component crisis, which has seen RAM and storage prices skyrocket.

Whatever the case, we won’t have to wait for too long to find out. Last week, Valve confirmed both Steam Frame and Steam Machine are releasing sometime this summer, which means we’re truly one step closer to knowing everything.

Looking for more Steam Frame news?

Valve Unveils Steam Frame VR headset to Make Your Entire Steam Library Portable: Valve shows off Steam Frame, the standalone headset that can stream and natively play your entire Steam library—with only a few caveats right now.

Hands-on: Steam Frame Reveals Valve’s Modern Vision for VR and Growing Hardware Ambitions: We go hands-on with Valve’s latest and greatest VR headset yet.

Valve Says No New First-party VR Game is in Development: Valve launched Half-Life: Alyx (2020) a few months after releasing Index, but no such luck for first-party content on Steam Frame.

Valve is Open to Bringing SteamOS to Third-party VR Headsets: Steam Frame is the first VR headset to run SteamOS, but it may not be the last.

Valve Plans to Offer Steam Frame Dev Kits to VR Developers: Steam Frame isn’t here yet; Valve says it needs more time with developers first so they can optimize their PC VR games.

Valve Announces SteamOS Console and New Steam Controller, Designed with Steam Frame Headset in Mind: Find out why Valve’s new SteamOS-running Console and controller will work seamlessly with Steam Frame.

Steam Frame vs. Quest 3 Specs: Better Streaming, Power & Hackability: Quest 3 can do a lot, but can it go toe-to-toe with Steam Frame?

Steam Frame vs. Valve Index Specs: Wireless VR Gameplay That’s Generations Ahead : Valve Index used to be the go-to PC VR headset, but the times have changed.

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Pico’s Next Flagship XR Headset Reportedly Leaked, Showing Some Very Familiar Design

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According to video discovered in Pico’s public SDK, it appears the company’s next flagship headset has just been leaked.

Trusted data miner and serial leaker Luna was sent what appears to be a number of tutorial videos for Project Swan, which were buried in Pico’s public SDK.

Luna, who also leaked multiple devices in the past including Meta Ray-Ban Display, additionally confirmed the videos seen below are indeed authentic.

PICO Project Swan

I was sent these by a source claiming it is in the public SDK, and I was able to independently verify that is indeed the case (you can too) pic.twitter.com/wAVa56OY1T

— Luna (@Lunayian) June 11, 2026

What it reveals: a headset very much inspired by Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR, as it appears to include a separate battery unit and woven headstrap à la Vision Pro, and a body similar to Galaxy XR.

Vision Pro Solo Knit Band | Courtesy Apple

Earlier this week Qualcomm seemingly teased its next-gen Snapdragon XR chipset targeted at standalone headsets, something the company says we’ll learn more about “soon.”

Notably, Pico said back in March that Project Swan will contain a co-processor that combines custom XR silicon and a separate flagship SoC with “more than 2× CPU and GPU performance vs XR2 Gen 2,” something the company say will launch globally in late 2026. While possibly a coincidence, the timing does raise an eyebrow at whether Pico will be the first to include Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon XR chip.

That said, we’re still waiting to hear a lot more about Project Swan, including its pricing, official naming scheme and (not to mention) full spec sheet.

So far, Pico has revealed it will weight in at 270g (presumably just the headset and not battery) and include microOLED panels with 4,000 pixels per inch (PPI). The headset’s optics are also said to provide an average ~40 pixels per degree (PPD) and a center sweet spot exceeding 45 PPD.

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