Qualcomm to Supply XR1 VR Chip to the HoloLens 2

• Rumors are swirling that Microsoft may look to Qualcomm’s upcoming XR1 VR chip to power the HoloLens 2.
• The chip’s 4K video capabilities, coupled with enhanced AI, AR, and VR capabilities, make it the current frontrunner.
• Microsoft has yet to confirm anything and may not reveal which chip it chooses until 2019.

Qualcomm’s announcement of its new XR1 VR chip earned it a lot of attention from the media last month. The chip, which Qualcomm unveiled at Augmented World Expo 2018, will feature 4K video, which runs up to a maximum of 60 frames per second. Significant advances in augmented reality (AR) technology and its artificial intelligence capabilities also make it an interesting proposition.

Tellingly, the announcement also claimed that the chip has a few customers in the pipeline. And some sources claim that Microsoft’s upcoming HoloLens 2 will be one of those customers.

The virtual reality (VR) headset has yet to be officially unveiled to the public. However, it’s certainly stirred up some conversation, with many people wondering what technology the device will use.

All we know for certain so far is that the device will run a version of Windows 10 and that it will have a customized Holographic Processing Unit.

Initially, people thought that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor would power the headset. However, sources close to Microsoft suggests that Qualcomm’s more recently announced hardware packs the punch that Microsoft is looking for.

The fact that it can run 4K video so smoothly appears to be a deciding factor, as do the enhanced AI and VR capabilities of the chip. Improved AR abilities may just be the icing on the cake.

Microsoft isn’t revealing anything concrete at this early stage. The current speculation suggests that the company will hold back until early-2019 to reveal more about the HoloLens 2.