Google and Qualcomm Join Forces to Develop RISC-V Based Wear OS Chipsets

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Google have unveiled their partnership to create RISC-V based Wear OS chipsets, paving the way for next-generation Wear OS solutions. This innovative venture holds significant potential to challenge the dominance of ARM architecture in the Android ecosystem.

A Challenge to ARM Dominance

Historically, Android devices have been built around various architectures, including ARM, x86, and MIPS. However, the current landscape has largely limited the choice to ARM, giving ARM architecture a pivotal role in the entire Android ecosystem. Qualcomm and Google's collaboration aims to change that by introducing RISC-V as an alternative architecture.

The Rise of RISC-V

RISC-V, pronounced "risk five," is an open-source instruction set architecture for CPUs that has been gaining traction recently. What sets it apart is its open-source nature, which means that chipset designers do not need to pay royalties as they do for ARM. Moreover, ARM imposes restrictions on who can create custom CPU cores, incurring additional costs.

Wearable Technology as a Starting Point

Google and Qualcomm are beginning their venture with RISC-V based Snapdragon Wear chipsets, which will power the next generation of Wear OS solutions. While Android has not yet officially embraced RISC-V, this initiative represents a stepping stone for the adoption of more powerful chipsets in smartphones and tablets in the future.

Why RISC-V Matters

The significance of RISC-V lies in its potential to disrupt the status quo. ARM charges companies, including major players like Qualcomm, Samsung, and MediaTek, for the use of their Cortex CPU designs. While some companies opt to design their CPUs in-house, doing so requires an expensive "architectural license."

With RISC-V being open source, Qualcomm will be able to design its own RISC-V based CPUs, leveraging its expertise to develop efficient and high-performance chips. This move will provide Google and the broader Android ecosystem with an alternative platform, offering a fallback and a bargaining chip when negotiating prices with ARM.

What's Next for Wear OS and Beyond

Qualcomm traditionally releases new Wear generations every few years, with the most recent being the W5 in 2022. While it is possible that a W6 could be on the horizon, the exact timeline remains undisclosed. The commercial product launch of RISC-V-based wearables will be announced at a later date.

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