Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit Day 3 Live Blog: ACPC and XR

01:13PM EST - The annual Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit is in its final day, and the main focal points for discussion are the Windows on Snapdragon-based Always Connected PCs, with updates to the 8cx family of processors, and the into augmented reality and virtual reality with Qualcomm's efforts in XR being expanded. We're here ready to report, with the presentation set to start at 2pm ET / 7pm UTC.

01:57PM EST - We're just getting seated, a few minutes to start

02:05PM EST - Here we go: SVP/GM Handset products Jim Tran to the stage

02:06PM EST - 820k views on QC yesterday

02:07PM EST - (note, that wasn't on the YT stream, which has only 3200 - they've hired influencers to manage their social accounts for the week)

02:07PM EST - Video time

02:08PM EST - VP of XR, Hugo Swart to the stage

02:08PM EST - How many of you have experienced a poor conference call?

02:09PM EST - XR, or extended reality, can be better than reality

02:09PM EST - especially for conference calls

02:09PM EST - We have news that will change how we socialise that will combine XR, AI, and 5G

02:09PM EST - The digital transformation has begun

02:10PM EST - Everyone and everything will be connected

02:10PM EST - XR = VR, AR, MR

02:10PM EST - XR is the next mobile platform

02:10PM EST - Hands free, immersive interactions

02:10PM EST - (isn't that just.... reality?)

02:11PM EST - Taking optimizations for XR and moving it to the main SoC

02:11PM EST - Building reference designs

02:11PM EST - enabling OEMs to come to market

02:11PM EST - Make VR really mobile

02:11PM EST - Oculus Go, Quest, Vive, many others in China

02:11PM EST - Transported into a virtual world

02:12PM EST - Kids call VR 'the new world'

02:12PM EST - Qualcomm is creating a new world

02:12PM EST - digital elements overlaid with the real world

02:13PM EST - Use cases for industry to improve efficiency

02:13PM EST - Snapdragon powers the top XR platforms in the world

02:13PM EST - 30+ devices with Snapdragon

02:13PM EST - Don't intend to stop

02:13PM EST - POtential to be ubiquitous and everywher

02:14PM EST - Every new Walmart employee is now trained in VR

02:14PM EST - There's a demo in the demo room later

02:14PM EST - How to face an angry customer

02:14PM EST - also industrial logistics

02:14PM EST - Tourism, retail

02:15PM EST - Enabled by different device form factors

02:15PM EST - Now we have standalone headsets

02:15PM EST - Truly free and mobile

02:15PM EST - QC created this category with partners

02:15PM EST - It's here for the long term

02:16PM EST - The next category, especially for 5G, is XR viewers

02:16PM EST - processing is split between the glasses and a device in your pocket

02:16PM EST - QC now has customers launching XR viewers

02:17PM EST - Experiencing immersive video and games on the train

02:17PM EST - Now Boundless XR

02:17PM EST - Distributed processing: headset with nearby PC with 60 GHz connectivity

02:17PM EST - Wi-Gig

02:18PM EST - split processing

02:18PM EST - tracking in the headset, heavy lifting on the PC

02:18PM EST - announced at GDC, customers launching now

02:18PM EST - Boundless XR with 5G as well

02:19PM EST - Infrastructure and cloud via 5G does the heavy lifting

02:19PM EST - Four new form factors: Standalone, Viewers, Boundless for PC, Boundless for 5G

02:19PM EST - Market segments: Consumer, Enterprise, Operator

02:20PM EST - Andrea Hogan to the stage, Senior Director of Partner Marketing

02:21PM EST - 'We have had innovative announcements'

02:21PM EST - 20 minutes of a partner showcase

02:21PM EST - push the boundaries of the technology

02:21PM EST - QC breaks through and the ecosystem leaps forward

02:22PM EST - three new korean operators announced recently as partners

02:22PM EST - 'XR is going to change the way we interact with the world'

02:22PM EST - such as with gaming

02:22PM EST - XR has been tied to gaming

02:23PM EST - Consumers enjoy new game worlds

02:23PM EST - Partnering with Unity

02:23PM EST - Unity empowers everyone

02:23PM EST - 34 billion installs of unity games in the last year

02:23PM EST - Unity to the stage

02:25PM EST - AR music experiences made with Unity

02:25PM EST - Beat Saber

02:25PM EST - shifts in human computer interactions

02:26PM EST - low powered computing devices to ingest real world data

02:26PM EST - moving from the cloud to the PC to the new form factors

02:26PM EST - Devices need to interact and react

02:27PM EST - Using your phone to interact with people

02:28PM EST - Using XR glasses to check email and synced with the cloud

02:28PM EST - Unity can build these spacial applications

02:28PM EST - Unity is building the tools

02:28PM EST - Unity AR Foundation

02:29PM EST - Unity Project Tiny initiative - tool for XR developers to shrink apps

02:29PM EST - Mixed Reality Studio (MARS) to build multi-device experiences with real-world data

02:30PM EST - QC back to the stage

02:30PM EST - Unity is the ultimate development platform for XR

02:30PM EST - Now Enterprise XR

02:30PM EST - A connected workforce

02:31PM EST - Mitchell International to the stage, Automotive Physical Damage EVP

02:32PM EST - Restoration of vehicles post accident

02:33PM EST - connecting owners and repairers and insurers

02:33PM EST - Also medical claims

02:36PM EST - More change in automotive in the next 5 years than the last 50

02:37PM EST - Sensors need to be correct and work fine when damaged

02:37PM EST - A car mechanic is now more like a software engineer

02:37PM EST - Using augmented reality for years in this market

02:38PM EST - Toyota measuring paint thickness in XR

02:38PM EST - It took 2 people a day. Now one person takes 4 hours with XR assistance

02:38PM EST - Two cameras to see behind a trailer

02:39PM EST - When these are repaired, they have to be repaired properly

02:40PM EST - Combining artificial intelligence and XR

02:40PM EST - New XR for enterprise efficiency

02:40PM EST - PoC for vehicle repair

02:41PM EST - XR Glasses

02:42PM EST - Detects vehicle, show cases technical instructions in the glasses. Verbally interacting with the glasses through voice recognition and commands. All hands free

02:42PM EST - Access to experts

02:43PM EST - Demo in the demo lounge later today

02:43PM EST - This is the first step

02:43PM EST - QC back to the stage

02:44PM EST - Many innovative companies and institutions deliver at scale with XR solutions

02:44PM EST - fuelling business growth

02:44PM EST - Accenture XR to the stage

02:45PM EST - Accenture XR is global

02:45PM EST - Four pillars

02:45PM EST - Maximize sales

02:46PM EST - Key Clients and projects

02:46PM EST - Connected Worker, Immersive Learning

02:48PM EST - Virtual Merchandising

02:50PM EST - More demos in Vegas

02:50PM EST - QC to the stage

02:50PM EST - Operators offering XR content

02:51PM EST - KDDI to the stage

02:51PM EST - 5G+XR for consumers

02:52PM EST - Focusing on two main assets: Visual Position Service, and Smartglasses

02:53PM EST - Social integration with XR

02:55PM EST - smart glasses in stores from 1st November

02:55PM EST - More plans for 2020

02:56PM EST - Operator offering for small and medium businesses

02:56PM EST - Deutsche Telekom to the stage

02:56PM EST - AR FieldAdvisor

02:56PM EST - Remote field support

02:56PM EST - Solving key XR challenges for DT engineers

02:57PM EST - nreal AR Glasses

02:57PM EST - Beta is ready

02:58PM EST - field technicians plug the smart glasses into the phone. Uses spatial computing interface to call an expert, two way video call

02:58PM EST - (no mention of lag)

03:02PM EST - Journey to new realities

03:03PM EST - In the next few years, get a single device from AR to VR, replacing all your screens

03:03PM EST - The next step is here

03:03PM EST - New platform dedicated to XR

03:03PM EST - Enable new experiences

03:03PM EST - Qualcomm XR2 with 5G

03:04PM EST - 8K video, 3K per eye, true mixed reality

03:04PM EST - 3d reconstruction, semantic segmentation

03:04PM EST - Holographic telepresence

03:04PM EST - XR social experiences

03:04PM EST - XR assistant

03:05PM EST - Combines XR, 5G, and AI in a single platform

03:06PM EST - built for dual display, dual compute, optimizations and algorithm that a smartphone chip can't do

03:06PM EST - XR2 sits above XR1

03:07PM EST - XR2 for premium, XR1 for mainstream

03:07PM EST - Meet the different needs of XR users

03:07PM EST - Reference design for XR2

03:07PM EST - HMD accelerator program

03:08PM EST - specs for XR2 will be withheld for a few months

03:08PM EST - Head of XR to the stage

03:09PM EST - Understanding XR complexity

03:10PM EST - QC is best at high perf and low power

03:10PM EST - low latency too

03:10PM EST - Fueling Premium Quality VR

03:11PM EST - AR learning

03:11PM EST - moving in the virtual world

03:11PM EST - Visuals, audio, interactivity

03:12PM EST - XR2 definition was built thinking about these pillars

03:13PM EST - Performance against Snapdragon 835.

03:14PM EST - Audio, visuals, interactions

03:14PM EST - Gaming in XR is very different in consumer electronic devices

03:14PM EST - Requires more shader processing, more texel rates, higher resolutions

03:16PM EST - Mixing graphics and watching videos in VR

03:16PM EST - 360-degree videos

03:16PM EST - Support 360-video at 8K60 decode

03:16PM EST - 120 Hz refresh rates, HDR10+

03:16PM EST - custom silicon for reduced latency in AR

03:17PM EST - High perf and low power is crucial

03:18PM EST - Support AptX audio

03:19PM EST - Voice UI

03:19PM EST - e.g. 'say open door' in a game and it opens doors

03:19PM EST - Say 'Press F' to pay respects

03:19PM EST - Audio context detection

03:20PM EST - eg, hear when the pizza guy comes to the door

03:20PM EST - Multi-player communication

03:23PM EST - 7 camera support on XR2

03:23PM EST - Customers require more cameras

03:24PM EST - Map the environment to a virtual world with XR2

03:25PM EST - They all require world class CPU, GPU, Hexagon DSP, AI Engine

03:25PM EST - Controllers and Hand Tracking

03:26PM EST - Mixed Reality

03:26PM EST - Wear a VR glass and see levels of immersion (virtual or real)

03:26PM EST - video see through

03:27PM EST - 5G for high bandwidth, low latency

03:27PM EST - Premium XR everywhere

03:28PM EST - VR movie in XR2 glasses in 8K 360

03:28PM EST - Enables No wires and cables

03:30PM EST - XR in 5G with Pokemon Go ?

03:31PM EST - Niantic to the stage

03:32PM EST - Pokemon Go Fest requires infrastructure

03:33PM EST - Continue to evolve the Pokemon Go platform to develop new experiences

03:33PM EST - Announcing multi-year collab with Qualcomm and Pokemon Go for consumers

03:33PM EST - Using QC APIs and Niantic's real world APIs

03:33PM EST - Starts with XR2 and cloud mapping features

03:33PM EST - 5G leverage

03:34PM EST - Shared social experiences

03:34PM EST - Encouraging people to go outside

03:34PM EST - (I thought the benefit of 5G is that you *don't* need to be there)

03:36PM EST - XR2 with Purina

03:37PM EST - (So, you can have 50 cats without actually having cats?)

03:39PM EST - Brainstorming product design with Purina

03:39PM EST - Multi-user collab event

03:39PM EST - People get avatars

03:40PM EST - Eyetracking to give immersion

03:40PM EST - 2D interfaces with interaction

03:40PM EST - Conduct holographic meetings

03:42PM EST - Virtual environments as well

03:43PM EST - Using AI to simulate mouth movements based on audio

03:44PM EST - Collaborative solutions

03:44PM EST - Powered by XR2 and 5G. (Would a business use 5G like that? Or local network?)

03:44PM EST - Does XR2 still require an external Wi-Fi 6 chip / Wi-Gig chip ?

03:45PM EST - Don McGuire to the stage to talk about ACPC

03:46PM EST - Miguel Nunes to the stage, PM for Compute Products

03:47PM EST - Qualcomm: 'Leading the PC Industry to Mobile'

03:48PM EST - 'we don't believe fans should be in PCs'

03:48PM EST - there seems to be a number of chinese devices there

03:49PM EST - 'Battery life that lasts for days'

03:50PM EST - Three premium devices in the market

03:50PM EST - Surface Pro X with SQ1

03:50PM EST - $500 x86 PC example

03:51PM EST - so, Qualcomm is going after the $500 market? I'll hold them to that

03:54PM EST - Video of a chunky PC with Snapdragon

03:55PM EST - Snapdragon 8c and 7c announced

03:55PM EST - More price points and perfromance levels

03:56PM EST - A snapdragon for everyone

03:56PM EST - Focusing on user experiences

03:57PM EST - These areas matter for users beyond CPU/GPU

03:57PM EST - Security across every tier

03:58PM EST - Devices are now protected with hardware root of trust

03:58PM EST - location access policies

03:59PM EST - Gaze correction

04:01PM EST - Uses 50x less power than x86

04:01PM EST - 7c has LTE

04:02PM EST - 5+ TOPs

04:02PM EST - Octocore Kryo, Adreno GPU

04:02PM EST - (looks like an 855?)

04:03PM EST - 2x the battery life vs competitors

04:03PM EST - SiP design, including modem and RF

04:04PM EST - Wi-Fi too

04:04PM EST - Now 8c

04:05PM EST - 8c is 7nm

04:05PM EST - 6+ TOPs. Faster freq over 7c ?

04:06PM EST - Integrated X24 modem, or can be used with X55 for 5G

04:07PM EST - Now talking ecosystem

04:08PM EST - Customers want speed, durability, design, security

04:09PM EST - CUstomers love all-day battery

04:10PM EST - ACPC is now targeting enterprise, small business, students and developers

04:10PM EST - lower cost enables new opportunities in emerging markets

04:10PM EST - Adobe Creative Cloud Suite coming to ARM64

04:11PM EST - Business model evolution

04:11PM EST - unlocking the creator

04:12PM EST - Accelerating a new wave of computing

04:12PM EST - Windows remote desktop with low latency

04:13PM EST - MS is committed to bring xCloud to Snapdragon

04:14PM EST - Digital transformation is here today

04:15PM EST - 5G mmWave can elevate enterprise use cases

04:16PM EST - 5 Gbps indoors in initial tests for private 5G networks in an office

04:17PM EST - Zoom video communications is a partner

04:19PM EST - transcription services

04:19PM EST - (this is just a software ad)

04:21PM EST - Zoom is going Arm native, demo later today

04:24PM EST - Qualcomm's 8c reference design video

04:24PM EST - looks kinda cool

04:25PM EST - 8cx optimized for business customers

04:26PM EST - 'Snapdragon for everyone'

04:26PM EST - Yes, QC has supply (a dig at Intel)

04:30PM EST - That's a wrap.