Qualcomm launches new Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform

At MWC Shanghai, Qualcomm made a series of announcements including their new Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform. This platform is an addition to their current Snapdragon Wear 1100 and 2100 platforms which currently are in the majority of smart bands and Android Wear 2.0 watches.

The Snapdragon Wear 1200 is designed to offer less expensive IoT LTE M1 and NB1 connectivity to devices like kids watches and pet trackers. That way the devices can always be connected to the network but don't cost more than $150 and have very inexpensive service plans. Previously pet trackers cost upwards of $30 a month and the devices used to cost hundreds of dollars. Now the devices can cost less and the services much less.

ODMs like Borqs and Qanta are already onboard helping to develop reference platforms for manufacturers in China to speed up design and deployment. In China, kids watches are extremely popular and Snapdragon Wear should broaden the audience that can afford them. In Western countries, we will see this Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform being used more in elder care and pet tracking in order to ensure that neither your parents nor your pets get lost.

There are no exact dates when these products will be available, but the platform itself is commercially available and is shipping today. That means we could see devices as soon as next quarter or in Q4. Either way, these products will be less expensive and have better connectivity than in the past which is always a good thing for mobile devices, especially wearables.