Lighter, cooler headsets are coming, thanks to Qualcomm’s latest silicon

TL;DR Unveiled at AWE 2026, the Snapdragon Reality Elite is Qualcomm’s new top-tier VR and mixed-reality chipset, building on the previous generation Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2 found in devices like the Samsung Galaxy XR. The new chip boasts a 60% GPU boost, a 160% NPU performance leap (48 TOPS), up to 20% longer battery life, and runs up to 12°C cooler under load. XREAL’s Project Aura and a new device from Play for Dream will be among the first to use the SoC platform.