Qualcomm's new on-device AI chip could change smart glasses forever

What you need to know

• Qualcomm has announced the "first completely local, on-device AI model for smart glasses" at AWE 2025.
• Smart and AR glasses with the Snapdragon AR1 Plus Gen 1 chip will support a Meta Llama AI with one billion parameters and 128K token context.
• This new Snapdragon chip is reportedly more power efficient and better at taking photos.
• Qualcomm also announced that Snapdragon Spaces will be compatible with Android XR.

At Augmented World Expo 2025, Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon AR1 Plus Gen 1 chip for smart glasses. It's capable of running the Llama 3.2 edge AI model with one billion parameters on smart glasses — no phone required. And this could transform the next generation of smart glasses.

Qualcomm VP of XR Ziad Asghar wore TCL RayNeo X3 Pro AR glasses on stage at AWE, showing off the option to speak with the AI using a small language model (SLM) without any internet connection or phone back-up.

Aside from answering questions, Qualcomm-powered smart glasses will use cameras to interpret your surroundings and provide context on what you're seeing. The Qualcomm chip has a 1.2-second time to first token (TTFT), cutting down on the usual cloud-query delay.

Smart glasses still won't be "standalone" until they get cellular support and on-device apps, and the Llama 3.2 model will still need outside help sometimes. But this makes smart glasses feel more like proper next-gen tech, not just Bluetooth phone accessories.

Just like the Snapdragon XR2 Plus SoC in Project Moohan, the new Snapdragon AR1 Plus Gen 1 chipset will be marketed for more pro-level AI glasses.

Qualcomm says this new chipset reduces smart glasses' temple height by 20%, so they won't stand out as much compared to normal glasses.

It supposedly uses less power for functions like computer vision, Wake with Voice standby, and Video Streaming, while also delivering "enhanced image quality" with improved image stabilization and a multi-frame engine that combines photos for improved lighting.

Intriguingly, it appears that Qualcomm is working on using smart rings as a controller for AR glasses, with gesture control, motion tracking, health monitoring, and 3DoF control listed as options. Asghar says that rings and smartwatches will "enable new modalities of input as they work in concert with your glasses."

We assume that the Samsung Galaxy Ring will be one compatible device, working as an Android XR input device. And perhaps we could see other Qualcomm partners like Meta make their own smart ring controllers.

Qualcomm didn't name which devices would use the Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1, aside from the RayNeo X3 Pro. The Google AR reference glasses we tested at Google I/O seem like an obvious candidate, and we wonder if the leaked Meta Ray-Ban Hypernova would be another candidate, since Llama 3.2 is a Meta AI model.

Aside from the new chipset, Qualcomm announced today that Snapdragon Spaces has been made compatible with Android XR and Samsung Project Moohan. In theory, this should facilitate XR devs creating spatial apps for devices like Moohan and XREAL Project Aura more quickly.

Android Central will be on site at AWE 2025, and we'll continue to cover all of the news coming in at the event this year. Keep an eye out this week for hands-on with the latest XR and smart glasses prototypes!