Snapdragon XR1 HMD Reference Design
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| Snapdragon XR1 HMD Reference Design | |
|---|---|
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Type | Head-mounted display |
| Subtype | Standalone VR |
| Developer | Qualcomm[1] |
| Release Date | 2019 |
| System | |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1[1] |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | 3DoF and 6DoF head tracking[1] |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C tether to a Snapdragon-powered smartphone; standalone mode[1] |
Snapdragon XR1 HMD Reference Design is a virtual reality head-mounted display released in 2019. It is a Qualcomm reference headset based on the Snapdragon XR1 platform, which Qualcomm called its first chipset dedicated to extended reality (XR). Qualcomm described it as a device for developing and testing XR software "in a form factor that is accurate for deep interaction with XR content", and said it was meant to help developers and manufacturers shorten their time to commercialization.[1]
According to Qualcomm, the headset works mainly in a tethered mode, connected over USB Type-C to an "XR-optimized" smartphone powered by Snapdragon, and can also run in a standalone mode. Qualcomm sold it through Thundercomm, which also offered the Snapdragon VR SDK for download.[1]
Background
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon XR1 Platform on 29 May 2018, ahead of the Augmented World Expo, calling it the first dedicated XR platform. The company positioned it for mainstream headsets and named Meta, VIVE, Vuzix and Pico as the first manufacturers developing on it.[2] In its report on the announcement, Road to VR wrote that Qualcomm aimed the XR1 at what it called "high-quality" XR devices, lower-end headsets such as the Oculus Go, as distinct from "premium" high-end devices such as the Vive Focus.[3]
Reference designs are part of how Qualcomm supports headset makers. Road to VR described the company's HMD Accelerator program as one that gives hardware makers access to XR reference devices and connects them with manufacturers able to bring those devices to market quickly.[3]
The Qualcomm Developer Network listed the Snapdragon XR1 HMD Reference Design among its XR development kits, next to the Snapdragon XR2 HMD Reference Design, the Snapdragon 845 VR Development Kit and the Snapdragon 835 VR Development Kit.[4] Thundercomm, the company that sold the headset, was founded in 2016 as a joint venture between ThunderSoft and Qualcomm Technologies and has its headquarters in San Diego.[5]
Design and hardware
The headset uses the heterogeneous compute architecture of the XR1 (CPU, GPU and DSP) to accelerate the Qualcomm AI Engine. Qualcomm said the engine can run algorithms for AR features such as better pose prediction and object classification.[1] The XR1 announcement described the same use: on-device machine learning for computer vision in AR applications.[2]
For tracking, the device uses visual inertial odometry, which Qualcomm said lets users move around in VR and interact with AR objects. It supports 3DoF and 6DoF head tracking, along with controller capabilities for navigating and interacting in virtual and augmented environments.[1]
Specifications
Qualcomm published the following platform-level specifications for the reference design. The developer page did not list display, optics or field-of-view figures for the headset itself.[1]
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 Platform |
| Video | Ultra-high definition, 4K video resolution at up to 60 frames per second |
| Head tracking | 3DoF and 6DoF |
| Image signal processor | Qualcomm Spectra ISP, for reduced noise and an improved final picture in AR headsets |
| Graphics APIs | OpenGL, OpenCL and Vulkan |
| Audio | Qualcomm 3D Audio Suite, Qualcomm Aqstic Audio Technologies and Qualcomm aptX Audio |
| Motion-to-photon latency | Less than 20 ms |
| Operating modes | Tethered over USB Type-C to an XR-optimized Snapdragon smartphone (primary); standalone |
| Software | Snapdragon VR SDK (download from Thundercomm) |
Related XR1 reference designs
Qualcomm presented other reference designs built on the XR1 under the "Smart Viewer" name. Its developer page for the HMD reference design does not say whether the HMD is the same hardware as either of them.[1]
Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design (2019)
On 29 May 2019, at Augmented World Expo, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design, built on the Snapdragon XR1 Platform. It was a VR form factor developed with Goertek and intended to shorten development time for both AR and VR smart viewers.[6] According to Qualcomm's announcement, the design had:[7][8]
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Movement tracking | 6DoF for room-scale experiences, with two dedicated 6DoF cameras so users can walk around without external motion sensors |
| Hand tracking | Full hand and gesture tracking (tap, zoom, pinch, scroll) |
| Eye tracking | Integrated eye tracking developed with Tobii, used for foveated rendering to reduce power consumption and for gaze-based interaction |
| Controllers | 6DoF controllers, with support for vision-based controllers |
| Display | Panel built with JDI; 2K resolution per eye at 72 Hz |
| Operating modes | Tethered over USB-C to a smartphone or PC, or standalone, with all computing on the XR1 (Kryo CPU, Adreno GPU, Hexagon DSP and AI Engine) |
Qualcomm said the standalone mode was for applications such as simple games, video streaming and productivity software at low power consumption.[7] In the announcement, Hugo Swart, head of XR at Qualcomm Technologies, said: "By distributing the workload and tapping into the compute power of host devices via tethering to users' smartphone or PC, the reference designs' additional features like eye tracking and 6DoF controllers unlock a deeper level of XR immersion."[7]
XR1 AR Smart Viewer Reference Design (2021)
In February 2021 Qualcomm announced a separate XR1-based design, an AR headset tethered to a phone or PC that also has onboard processing. Road to VR reported that the headset's XR1 handles part of the sensor processing and display work, and that Qualcomm claimed this cut the tethered device's power consumption by about 30 percent. The listed specifications included a micro OLED display from BOE at 1,920 x 1,080 and 90 Hz, a 45 degree field of view, dual monochrome cameras for 6DoF tracking and an 8 MP RGB camera.[9] The design was made by Goertek.[10] Goertek said in its own announcement that it had developed XR reference designs with Qualcomm on the Snapdragon 820, 821, 835 and 845 and on the XR1 and XR2 platforms, and that it joined Qualcomm's HMD accelerator program in 2017.[11] UploadVR noted that Qualcomm's reference designs are typically proof-of-concept devices that include features sometimes left out of consumer products for reasons such as cost or power consumption.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Snapdragon XR1 HMD Reference Design". Qualcomm Developer Network. Qualcomm Technologies. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119173236/https://developer.qualcomm.com/hardware/snapdragon-xr1-hmd-reference-design. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Qualcomm reveals the world's first dedicated XR Platform". Cambridge Network. 2018-05-29. https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/qualcomm-reveals-worlds-first-dedicated-xr-platform. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ben Lang (2018-05-29). "Snapdragon XR1 is Qualcomm's First Dedicated Chip for AR/VR Headsets". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-xr1-announcement-dedicated-chip-ar-vr-headsets/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "XR Development Kits". Qualcomm Developer Network. Qualcomm Technologies. https://web.archive.org/web/20201028000345/https://developer.qualcomm.com/hardware/xr-development-kits. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "About Us". Thundercomm. https://www.thundercomm.com/about-us/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Introducing the Qualcomm Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design". Qualcomm Investor Relations. Qualcomm Technologies. 2019-05-29. https://s204.q4cdn.com/645488518/files/doc_news/2019/05/2019-05-29_Introducing_the_Qualcomm_Snapdragon_Smart_Viewer_1264.pdf. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Qualcomm Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design". Semiconductor For You. 2019-05-29. https://www.semiconductorforu.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-smart-viewer-reference-design/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Aimee Kalnoskas (2019-05-30). "New reference design aims to enrich XR experiences with distributed processing". Microcontroller Tips. https://web.archive.org/web/20220810111449/https://www.microcontrollertips.com/snapdragon-smart-viewer-reference-design-xr-experiences/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Ben Lang (2021-02-23). "Qualcomm Announces Tethered AR 'Smart Viewer' Reference Design with Onboard Co-processing". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/qualcomm-ar-smart-viewer-headset-announcement/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ian Hamilton (2021-02-22). "Qualcomm Reveals AR Viewer Reference Design Based On XR1". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/qualcomm-xr1-reference-design/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Goertek Helps Deliver an Augmented Reality Reference Design powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 Platform". PR Newswire. Goertek. 2021-02-23. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goertek-helps-deliver-an-augmented-reality-reference-design-powered-by-the-qualcomm-snapdragon-xr1-platform-301233127.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.