Qualcomm Expands Samsung Partnership to Power New Galaxy Foldables, Watches and Smart Eyewear

Qualcomm and Samsung have expanded their long-standing partnership by bringing Snapdragon processors to Samsung’s latest Galaxy Foldables, smartwatches, and intelligent eyewear. The announcement was made during Samsung Unpacked, where the companies highlighted their focus on delivering more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) experiences across the Galaxy ecosystem.

Under the expanded collaboration, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy will power the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, and Galaxy Z Flip8. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform will debut in Samsung’s smartwatch lineup, powering the Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip will also drive Samsung and Google’s new intelligent eyewear.

Qualcomm Expands Samsung Partnership to Power New Galaxy Foldables, Watches and Smart Eyewear

The companies said the partnership aims to create a connected ecosystem where smartphones, watches, and smart glasses work together to deliver seamless AI-powered experiences. By combining powerful on-device processing with better connectivity between devices, users will be able to enjoy more personalized and context-aware features throughout the day.

Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, said AI is becoming an essential part of everyday devices. He noted that Snapdragon-powered Galaxy products will offer more natural and intelligent experiences while building on nearly three decades of collaboration between Qualcomm and Samsung.

Samsung also emphasized the close engineering work behind the new devices. Won-joon Choi, President and Chief Operating Officer of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile eXperience (MX) Business, said both companies optimized Snapdragon platforms specifically for different Galaxy products to deliver better performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy will improve the performance of Samsung’s latest foldable smartphones. Built on Qualcomm’s Oryon CPU architecture, the platform delivers faster processing speeds while maintaining strong power efficiency. It also features an upgraded graphics processor (GPU) and a next-generation neural processing unit (NPU) to support advanced AI tasks.

According to Qualcomm, the new chipset enables real-time AI features such as smarter photography, improved gaming performance, AI-enhanced connectivity, and more personalized user interactions. These improvements will enhance the overall experience on the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, and Galaxy Z Flip8.

Qualcomm is also bringing its Snapdragon Wear Elite platform to Samsung smartwatches for the first time. Qualcomm introduced the platform earlier this year at Mobile World Congress and designed it with Personal AI in mind.

See Also: Samsung Creates New Robotics Division to Speed Up AI and Humanoid Robot Development

The chipset uses advanced sensor fusion technology to continuously understand user activity and surroundings. This allows the Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2 to provide more proactive health insights, personalized recommendations, and context-aware assistance throughout the day.

Beyond smartphones and watches, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Google are extending their collaboration in the Android XR ecosystem with new intelligent eyewear. The smart glasses will be powered by the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 platform, which is built to support AI-powered features while maintaining lightweight and energy-efficient performance.

At Samsung Unpacked, eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker showcased new smart glasses designs that will become available later this year. Qualcomm said the growing range of designs reflects increasing interest in intelligent eyewear as AI-powered wearable technology continues to evolve.

With Snapdragon now powering Samsung’s latest smartphones, smartwatches, and smart glasses, the expanded partnership marks another step toward creating a more connected Galaxy ecosystem where AI can deliver smarter, faster, and more personalized experiences across multiple devices.