Qualcomm's all-in-one Snapdragon VR820 headset could reduce cost of entry into VR
Qualcomm is throwing its hat into the VR ring with a reference headset that, looking long-term, it hopes will lead to lower cost solutions en route to mass consumer adoption of VR. As its name implies, Qualcomm's Snapdragon VR820 headset is powered by its own Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC) with an Adreno 530 GPU. It's integrated into the headset itself, so there's no external hardware required—it doesn't need to be plugged into a PC like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, nor does it require a smartphone like Samsung's Gear VR. Qualcomm feels its experience building chipsets with graphics, audio, and sensor technologies makes it uniquely positioned to bring VR experiences to customers. However, it's not likely to market and sell its own headset to consumers, it wants to provide a reference blueprint for others to design around, using its hardware. "The Snapdragon VR820 integrates key technologies and features for an exceptional VR experience and ...