Qualcomm’s New Dragonwing Processors Aim to Power the Next Wave of Smart Everything

On Sept. 1 Qualcomm lifted the curtain on its latest pair of chips – the Q‑2390 and IQ‑2390 – marking another step toward a world where even the most ordinary objects can think for themselves.

Both chips sit under Qualcomm’s fast‑growing Internet of Things (IoT) umbrella, a division the San Diego‑based firm has been expanding ever since its smartphone‑chip monopoly began to wobble after Apple’s split. The new silicon, internally dubbed the “Dragonwing” line, is built to be tiny, power‑efficient, and affordable enough to slip into anything from kitchen appliances to factory‑floor controllers.

The Q‑2390 is pitched at the consumer‑ and commercial‑IoT market. Think retail kiosks that can answer questions in real time, smart refrigerators that adjust temperatures on the fly, or home‑assistant robots that can navigate a cluttered living room without missing a step. It’s also meant for enterprise terminals that need a little extra brainpower without sucking the battery dry.

Meanwhile, the IQ‑2390 is the workhorse for industrial scenarios. Qualcomm says it’s ideal for machine‑vision cameras that inspect products on an assembly line, building‑automation systems that balance heating and cooling, and energy‑management platforms that shave off wasteful kilowatts.

“The Dragonwing chips should, in theory, be a nice fit for touch, fingers, joints — humanoid sensing in general, really,” said Casey Laris, CTO of San Diego robotics start‑up Tactus AI. “The coming wave of physical AI relies on cost‑effective but still reliable ways for the robot software to know what’s happening in the real world.” Laris is referring to his company’s lab assistant robot, Elsie, which needs just enough processing punch to interpret tactile feedback without overheating.

Qualcomm’s expertise in low‑power, high‑performance silicon isn’t new – the company made billions selling chips for smartphones. But after Apple curtailed its partnership, Qualcomm has been aggressively diversifying, and the Dragonwing line is a centerpiece of that strategy.

Financially, the shift seems to be paying off. In Q3 2026, Qualcomm’s IoT division pulled in $1.83 billion, a 9 % jump over the same period last year. “We have tremendous expertise in high performance and low power,” CFO and COO Akash Palkhiwala told investors at a recent Goldman Sachs summit, “and we’re applying that to make everyday things smarter.”

Whether the new chips will truly make every doorbell, camera, or robot smarter remains to be seen, but Qualcomm’s bet is clear: the next frontier of computing isn’t in our pockets – it’s everywhere around us.