I just saw the future of smartwatches — Here’s how AI will supercharge your next Galaxy and Pixel Watch

Snapdragon Wear Elite processor highlight chart — (Image credit: Qualcomm)

I’m at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, where Qualcomm Technologies just announced the brand’s latest Snapdragon Wear Elite processor for smartwatches, and it’s all about handling complex AI tasks. Here’s what it could mean for your next wearables.

Snapdragon Wear Elite: Now even more AI on your wrist

For example, the new AI-powered, personalized ‘Workout Buddy’ feature for Apple Watch requires a paired Apple Intelligence-powered smartphone to work.

Coming to your Pixel or Galaxy Watch soon

Of course, Apple doesn’t use Qualcomm processors in the Apple Watch, but Google and Samsung both do. In fact, Qualcomm makes it clear that the latest Snapdragon Wear Elite processor will likely be supported by Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch devices.

In 2026, Samsung and Google will be a full step ahead of Apple when it comes to on-wrist AI capabilities. While even those with the best Apple Watch models are stuck with a limitedly useful non-AI-powered Siri experience, both the latest and prior-gen Samsung and Google watches support the latter’s outstanding Gemini-powered AI voice assistant.

Another area where Google and Samsung have Apple beat is smartwatch battery life. And the gap is about to get even bigger, potentially. The new Wear Elite processor also promises faster charging times, up to 50% power-ups in ten minutes, and more notably, even better overall power management.

The takeaway

Get ready for the next-generation of Wear OS smartwatches to be supercharged with on-device AI powers that could result in an even better Gemini AI assistant experience, improved health, fitness, stress, and sleep insights, data analysis, and power management.

Furthermore, the new Snapdragon Wear Elite tech could also show up in the next generation of AI pins, which may or may not see the light of day, like those from OpenAI and Apple.

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Dan Bracaglia is the Tom’s Guide editorial lead for all things smartwatches, fitness trackers and outdoor gear. With 15 years of experience as a consumer technology journalist testing everything from Oura Rings to instant cameras, Dan is deeply passionate about helping readers save money and make informed purchasing decisions. In the past year alone, Dan has assessed major product releases from the likes of Apple, Garmin, Google, Samsung, Polar and many others.

An avid outdoor adventurer, Dan is based in the U.S. Pacific Northwest where he takes advantage of the beautiful surroundings every chance he gets. A lover of kayaking, hiking, swimming, biking, snowboarding and exploring, he also makes every effort to combine his day job with his passions. When not assessing the sleep tracking and heart rate accuracy of the latest tach gadgets, you can find him photographing Seattle’s vibrant underground music community.

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