Bloomberg has reported that Facebook (NASDAQ:$FB) will be launching a $200 stand-alone virtual reality (VR) headset in 2018. The device will be built with the help from Xiaomi, a privately-owned Chinese smartphone maker. According to the Bloomberg report, the upcoming VR headset will be powered by a Qualcomm (NASDAQ:$QCOM) “Snapdragon mobile chip.”
So what does this mean for Qualcomm’s future? Let’s take a closer look.
Qualcomm is in position to succeed
Essentially, if the future of virtual reality is mobile, then Qualcomm is in a fantastic position to succeed. It already seems that a majority of virtual reality headsets are powered by mobile processors as these headsets require users to place their phones into the headset. In that case, the smartphone will provide both the processing power and the display.
That said, these solutions are not as powerful as devices that plug into personal computers. Why? Because headsets that plug directly into personal computers have access to greater computational power than mobile devices. However, just keep in mind that if the long-term future for VR headsets call for “untethered” devices, like the device that Facebook is supposedly working on, then, as mentioned, Qualcomm is well-positioned.
Again, we ask the question of ‘why?’ And the answer to that is because Qualcomm is a leading merchant vendor of mobile applications processors, especially high-end devices, and because these VR headsets will have similar power and performance requirements as high-end smartphones, Qualcomm’s technology is bound to be right at home.
Look at the bigger picture
While it’s still not clear as to whether Qualcomm selling chips to Facebook for stand-alone Oculus headsets will be the game changer that the company needs, there are still aspects to look forward to. For instance, if over the long-term these VR headsets become popular and device makers decide to enter the market themselves, Qualcomm is in a position to provide chips and other platform components to them. In this case, Qualcomm would benefit the most from a large market filled with competitors.
Featured Image: twitter
