Qualcomm Collaborates with 15 Global Operators to Deliver XR Viewers

Lightweight, head-worn devices that connect to a smartphone powered by Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 or 865 Mobile Platforms, XR viewers are glasses tethered to a 5G-enabled smartphone via USB-C cable. XR viewers unlock a new generation of immersive experiences using 5G-enabled smartphones that provide high bandwidth and low latency which is essential for high-quality XR. Consumers’ favorite smartphone applications can become augmented reality (AR) experiences in front of their eyes or workplace meetings can be revolutionized through holographic telepresence with virtual collaboration platforms, as XR and 5G come together to transform how the world connects, communicates and consumes content.

Through the Qualcomm® XR Optimized Certification Program, Qualcomm Technologies tests the performance and validates compatibility between the XR viewer and smartphones to help ensure a seamless user experience. There are two certifications, one for smartphone and one for the XR viewer to allow the OEMs (both smartphone and viewers) to verify optimization between multiple phones and multiple viewers without requiring them to conduct one-on-one optimization. The Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program includes: 

• Six Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) headtracking performance on the viewer and smartphone
• Display calibration validation on the viewer
• Motion to photon latency validation on the viewer and smartphone
• Power and thermal test on the viewer and smartphone
• Interoperability between the viewer and smartphone

Multiple XR viewer manufacturers are in development including 3Glasses, iQIYI, Nreal, OPPO, Panasonic, Pico and Shadow Creator are going through the certification process to be able to quickly deploy with Snapdragon-powered devices in the coming months. Both smartphones and XR viewers can use the Qualcomm XR Optimized badge from Qualcomm Technologies, which indicate compatibility and performance to consumers and users. Smartphone OEMs that plan to provide new XR experiences with their 5G-enabled smartphones with viewers include ASUS, Black Shark, OnePlus, OPPO, Smartisan, vivo, ZTE, with others to come.

With the global expansion of 5G, the XR ecosystem is prepared to unite superior cellular connectivity with quality hardware and premium XR. Experiences can be scaled on a global level, both in and out of the home, and within the next year we hope everyone can experience a new reality.

PARTNER QUOTES:

3Glasses
"As an important member of the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program, 3Glasses is among the first to launch VR glasses that can be connected to 5G smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 865 or 855. Currently, we are actively working with the three major Chinese operators and multiple smartphone OEMs, in order to launch the upcoming 3Glasses X1S in Q3 2020 and make it connect to more 5G smartphones,” said Wang Jie, CEO and Founder, 3Glasses. “The Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program helps us connect our ultra-thin VR glasses with 5G smartphones, making the form factor most suitable for consumers in the 5G era. 3Glasses will continue to work with Qualcomm Technologies, 5G phone OEMs and operators to bring the benefits of VR to more people, anytime and anywhere.”

ASUS
“The ROG brand prides itself on delivering hardware for truly dedicated gamers, and our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on ROG Phones has delivered on that. The Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program has been critical in enabling XR viewer compatibility for ROG Phones. We look forward to providing even more immersive gaming experiences with XR, as well as future collaborations with the rest of the mobile XR ecosystem,” said Bryan Chang, General Manager, phone business unit, ASUS. 

Black Shark
“Currently, the most popular mobile games are all one-dimensional, which limits the immersive gaming experience to players, especially when with control, audio, and visual experiences. However, the high bandwidth and low latency brought by 5G, Black Shark believes games enhanced by XR technology will bring unprecedented experiences and hold great appeal for gamers starting in 2020,” said Mr. William Song (Song Gang), Vice President of Black Shark Product Center. “As a gaming technology company and strategic partner of Tencent Games, Black Shark is willing to join hands with Qualcomm Technologies to drive XR technology in the gaming industry, leveraging cloud gaming, the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program for XR viewers as well as our gaming smartphones and accessories.”

China Mobile
“XR is one of the first killer applications enabled by 5G and is also one of the key businesses for China Mobile in the 5G era. China Mobile will work with Qualcomm Technologies and other companies to continuously explore the technological innovation and deployment strategies of 5G + XR applications. With Qualcomm Technologies’ ecosystem efforts to introduce the XR viewer category, we plan to explore this use case and others to open up a whole new XR horizon over 5G to end-users in 2020,” said Wang Hengjiang, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Group Device Co., Ltd.

China Telecom
“The transformative technology of 5G connectivity has become a new driving force for social and economic development with profound impact to society as steam and electricity in the past. We are very pleased to combine our advantages in 5G and cloud network collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies’ leading XR technology, giving full play to technical expertise from both sides, to jointly drive the deployment of 5G and XR in industrial, medical, education and consumer fields in 2020,” said Chen Li, Deputy General Manager of Tianyi Telecom Terminals Company Limited.

China Unicom
“The 5G-enabled high bandwidth and low latency, combined with the immersive and interactive experience provided by XR, will bring remarkable changes to the entire industry. China Unicom has joined forces with 21 XR companies including Qualcomm Technologies to build our 5G XR ecosystem. Qualcomm Technologies’ efforts to enable the commercial deployment of XR viewers for 5G smartphones, including the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program, will help the 5G XR ecosystem grow to maturity steadily following planned launches in 2020,” said Chen Fengwei, Deputy General Manager of Terminal and Channel Support Center, China Unicom and Deputy General Manager of Unicom Vsens Telecommunications Co Ltd.

Deutsche Telekom
“Deutsche Telekom and Qualcomm Technologies have a strong strategic collaboration in driving innovation together. We share the same vision that XR will soon transform the way we interact fundamentally,” says Sean Seaton, SVP Group Partnering and Devices, Deutsche Telekom. “XR viewers benefiting from smartphone capabilities is a big step towards bringing these technologies to mass market. Deutsche Telekom works with leading partners to unleash the full potential of XR, including XR viewer company Nreal, in conjunction with Qualcomm Technologies’ to ensure compatibility and interoperability between smartphones and XR viewers. Deutsche Telekom will be contributing to the XR ecosystem with critical network enablers, from edge computing to 5G to best home connectivity and combining it with great content such as music, concerts, sports events as well as gaming. We are working on an exciting integrated XR service – stay tuned.”

HTC
“At HTC VIVE we view the pairing of 5G and XR technologies as a foundational aspect of the next wave of technology development,” said Steve Wang, Vice President, Vive Wave Ecosystem. “Through VIVE’s Wave development platform, we can easily scale Snapdragon technology to any number of operator deployments, so that operators can deploy both cutting-edge XR hardware and content that makes these experiences come alive.”

iQiYi Smart Tech co., ltd
“With the support of Qualcomm Technologies, IQIYI Smart Technology has fully laid out the XR strategy, including the upcoming launch of its own brand QiYu AR and VR Glass products, using a split design to connect to 5G mobile phones. Using ultra-thin optical technology to realize the ultra-light wearing experience of glasses, opening up the content of IQIYI platform and multi-screen scenes such as web pages / documents / movies / mobile games / mailbox / WeChat video chat, etc. Make 5G + VR / AR enter consumer life faster,” said Xiong Wen, CEO, iQiYi Smart Tech co., ltd.

KDDI
“We have been envisioning 5G and XR as key pillars in KDDI’s business strategy for years and we are eager to integrate telecommunications and life designs to make it a consumer reality in 2020,” said Shinya Muramoto, Deputy General Manager, Business & Services Development Division, Personal Business Sector, KDDI CORPORATION. “As a next stage of 20+ years of collaboration between KDDI and Qualcomm Technologies, following commercial launch of 5G in March 2020, we are thrilled to launch XR this year together to materialize transformative experiences for our customers.”

KT Corporation
“KT, South Korea’s largest telecommunications company, successfully launched ‘Super VR TV’ using IPTV based on a stand-alone VR HMD for the first time in the world,” said Hyeon-seuk Lee, Executive Vice President, KT’s DeviceBU. “Collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies, KT wants to provide IPTV customers more immersive and vivid experiences through 5G and VR technology.”

LG Uplus
"In 2019, we commercialized VR HMDs connecting to 5G smartphones and offered over 1,500 VR experiences including 3D VR videos and 4K ultra high-definition videos with content spanning; gaming, performances, live sports, movies, educational content and more,” said Daewon Song, Vice President of Future Device Unit, LG Uplus. “This year we plan to commercialize AR glasses connected to 5G smartphones and are working closely with Qualcomm Technologies in various fields for both consumer and commercial, including VR content collaboration."

Nreal
“Nreal is supercharging the delivery of mixed reality glasses for all and we’re thrilled to be leading the way on mass consumer adoption in collaboration with global operators and Qualcomm Technologies,” said Chi Xu, CEO, Nreal. “Nreal’s Nebula 3D system, which can enable smartphone apps and experiences in a mixed reality environment, a milestone in making XR accessible to consumers worldwide and to leading XR developers through our hardware enhanced SDK offerings. The Nreal SDK offers the best development and delivery platform available to develop consumer MR apps and continues our mission to offer fast and easy development and deployment of XR experiences on current and next generation Snapdragon-powered devices.”

NTT DOCOMO, Inc.
“An extended reality (XR) device is a promising option to the post-smartphone world. However, NTT DOCOMO believes the road to a 5G post-smartphone world, actually starts with a smartphone. At the beginning of the 5G era, NTT DOCOMO is advocating the ‘MY NETWORK’ Concept where a smartphone is the hub and provides the 5G connectivity for various peripheral devices and services such as an XR device,” said Seiji Abe, Vice President and General Manager of Product Department, NTT DOCOMO, Inc. “XR has the potential to change the current paradigm and create a new communication culture in the 5G era. Connecting an XR Viewer to a 5G smartphone can prove the ‘MY NETWORK’ concept and demonstrate 5G’s high-speed and ultra-low latency. NTT DOCOMO is working to introduce AR glasses which connect to Snapdragon 865 or 855 powered smartphones, launch a distribution platform, and provide premium XR content and applications. NTT DOCOMO is passionate about contributing to the development of the XR domain through the collaboration in XR ecosystem enabled by Qualcomm Technologies.”

OnePlus
“2020 is the year of 5G popularization, and OnePlus has just launched its first full lineup of 5G-enabled flagship smartphones with the OnePlus 8 series,” said Oliver Zhang, Vice President, Head of Product, OnePlus. “With 5G-enabled phones that can take advantage of high bandwidth and low latency, users will be able enjoy the next level of immersive content experiences in the XR ecosystem. We are excited to further work with Qualcomm Technologies, our long-valued partner, in exploring new possibilities like these in the 5G era.”

OPPO
“At OPPO, we continue to expand our diverse portfolio of technological offerings by delivering new 5G experiences,” said Levin Liu, OPPO Vice President, Head of OPPO Research Institute. “The potential of AR is near limitless and we look forward to helping grow the ecosystem in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to bring new experiences to the users. We have already showcased exciting future technologies such as our AR glass prototype and even more exciting technologies are coming in second half of 2020.”

Orange
“The XR optimized certification program is a move forward toward to boost XR viewers market adoption. This is a critical achievement to ensure large usage across device ecosystem,” said Ph. Lucas, Executive Vice President Customer Equipment & Partnerships, Orange

“Orange is fully committed to supporting the incoming XR revolution. Contributing to this XR ecosystem is a way for Orange to open new possibilities for developers and manufacturers around Innovation & 5G and creates a path for new experiences based on Mixed Reality technology for our customers,” said Karine Dussert-Sarthe, Executive Vice President Product Marketing & Design, Orange

Panasonic
“Panasonic has demonstrated the world’s first HDR Capable & Ultra-high definition VR glasses prototype at CES 2020 in Las Vegas and it was very well received by the industry", said Michiko Ogawa, CTO, Appliances Company, Panasonic Corporation. “With the support of Qualcomm Technologies, we plan to optimize these VR glasses to work seamlessly with 5G-enabled smartphones. With a combination of 5G connectivity and compact, lightweight, ultra-high image quality VR glasses, we hope to deliver highly immersive experiences for live music & sports events in 2021 and beyond.”

Pico Interactive
“Qualcomm Technologies and Pico have a long and deep history of cooperation starting with our first-generation VR AIO to the current Pico Neo 2 VR headset, powered by Snapdragon XR Platforms,” said Henry Zhou, CEO, Pico. “At CES, we showcased our Pico VR Glasses prototype which tethers to a 5G-enabled smartphone via USB-C. Through the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program, we look forward to ensuring interoperability with our upcoming glasses to provide the most immersive 5G VR/AR experience for our consumers and trialing that experience later this year.”

Shadow Creator
“The 5G era brings tremendous opportunities and creates great room for innovation in form factor and interaction of the XR smart glasses. Qualcomm Technologies’ and Shadow Creator have maintained an in-depth strategic collaboration. In the past three years, we have developed multiple smart glasses based on Snapdragon 835 and Snapdragon 845, including Action One, Shadow VR, JIMO,” said Sun Li, President, Shadow Creator. “In October this year, we will introduce our XR viewer to the market. It can be tethered to our self-developed device powered by Snapdragon XR2 Platform, and also can be connected to Snapdragon 865 or 855 5G enabled smartphone. In this way, it can satisfy the multiple scenarios demands of consumers, operators, and industry customers, creating a prosperous ecosystem in the era of 5G pan-intelligence.”

SK Telecom
“With the commercialization of the 5G network, SK Telecom launched new AR/VR services, named Jump AR and Jump VR last year. Using AR and VR services, SK Telecom has been providing totally new and immersive experience to our 5G customers, and we anticipate that the AR/VR market will be expanding from this year with the spread of 5G subscribers. The advance of AR/VR device, such as the popularization of 6 DoF VR headsets or competitive AR glass, will be one of the main drivers to accelerate the market rapidly, and we are sure that Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G solutions and XR viewers will facilitate the proliferation of AR/VR use cases and user base,” said Jeon Jin-soo, Vice President and Head of 5GX Service Business Group, SK Telecom.

Smartisan
“Smartisan has been working closely with Qualcomm Technologies to support the launch of 5G devices. We are now excited to explore XR viewers, which is a great accessory to unlock immersive experiences to our 5G-enabled smartphones and we are happy with the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program to ensure compatibility between Smartisan devices and the rest of the ecosystem. Smartisan has a compelling tntOS ecosystem, which will bring a brand new experience of breakthrough imagination for smartphones and XR,” said Derek Wu, President, Smartisan.

SoftBank
“We, SoftBank have already been providing a few XR services for 5G and 4G customers today,” said Yoshiaki Adachi Vice President, Product Division, SoftBank Corp. “We are excited that XR viewers enabled by Qualcomm Technologies will further enrich the user experience of those services in this year or beyond.”

Telefonica
“XR is one of the clear use cases for 5G, we are working on solutions that combine both worlds, as we did with the launch of 5G in O2 UK, combining music services in VR and 5G. Thanks to the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program we will be able to improve the experience that we can offer to our customers in XR through our 5G networks with the latest certified smartphones and accessories enabled through the program," said Javier Encinas, Head of Innovation Propositions, Telefonica-Group Devices Unit.

Verizon
“Our 5G Ultra Wideband network will create transformational experiences for our customers, and our work with Qualcomm Technologies to push the XR ecosystem forward is one example of how that takes shape,” said Brian Higgins, Verizon senior vice president of consumer device marketing & product. “Innovative XR technologies paired with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network will redefine how our customers engage in the future, and as the XR ecosystem continues to grow, Verizon will be there to offer the most powerful XR experiences available."

vivo
“Combined with our advantages and expertise, vivo has provided continuous support for Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G ecosystem construction and promoted the development of relevant applications together. With the boom of global 5G industry, we continue to develop possibilities of XR technology, including the XR viewer and release the power of 5G ecosystem to our consumer in new ways,” said Fred Wong, General Manager of Smart Devices, vivo.

Vodafone
“Our development team is working on a number of augmented reality solutions which benefit greatly from the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program. 5G-capabilities are especially crucial for us and our customers’ future requirements as they enable a wide range of new XR-opportunities” said Sebastian Koepl, AR Evangelist, Vodafone.

ZTE
"XR is one of the most important application scenarios in the 5G era. ZTE has always kept open and positive attitude toward XR strategy, dedicated to providing ultimate 5G experience for consumers,” said Luo Wei, Vice President of ZTE Corporation and Director of Product Operation Center of ZTE Mobile Devices. "Devoted to the communication capabilities and video algorithms, ZTE was the first OEM to publicly commit to the Qualcomm XR Optimized Certification Program and is in close cooperation with Qualcomm Technologies, as well as the upstream and downstream partners of the industry to empower the XR ecosystem."