It’s a busy year for Qualcomm. In addition to announcing itsnew Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoCtoday — the chipset that will be found in the majority of Android flagships over the next twelve months — the company also unveiled Snapdragon Seamless, a new cross-platform initiative that looks to turn its silicon into a vast product ecosystem. With Qualcomm making another major play for the Windows market, it seems like the next couple of years could see your smartphone, PC, and much more able to communicate with each other like never before.
Qualcomm is targeting Snapdragon Seamless to create better cross-platform experiences for devices made by completely different manufacturers, placing them all under a single umbrella based on their SoC. With Seamless, you effectively get the support of a hardware ecosystem without having to limit yourself to one brand. For example, using low-power Bluetooth signals, your phone, smartwatch, and more to communicate effortlessly in the background.
It’s a fascinating approach, one we’ve seen from companies like Samsung, Google, or Apple, without being restricted to one device type. With Seamless, you could effectively buy aGalaxy S24and pair it with a pair of earbuds running on Qualcomm’s S7 Pro chip, all whilegetting the same level of ecosystem support— think improved audio source switching or always-available battery levels — that you’d usually see from buying a pair of Galaxy buds.
According to Qualcomm, some of the potential experiences include: mice and keyboards working across PCs, smartphones, and tablets, without having to constantly pair and unpair; easy file and window transfers; and “intelligent” earbud switching, with Snapdragon choosing the audio source based on priority. It’s a tempting future, even if I find myself concerned that it could result in yet another ecosystem to worry about.
Seamless will be supported on Android devices built with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Windows PCs running on its new Snapdragon X Elite, headsets with the S7 Pro audio chip, and the company’s AR2 platform for augmented reality gadgets. The company says it’ll also be supported by wearables and hearables, though without specific chips. Partners include Microsoft, Android, Xiaomi, ASUS, Honor, Lenovo, and OPPO — though, really, it’s those first two that matter more than most.
