Qualcomm’s New Processors Aim to Put Smarts in Everything

On Sept. 1 Qualcomm rolled out two brand‑new silicon families, the Q‑2390 and its industrial sibling, the IQ‑2390. Both belong to the company’s ever‑expanding Internet of Things (IoT) portfolio, a segment that’s been ticking up faster than any other in Qualcomm’s recent history.

The Q‑2390 is pitched at the kind of everyday smart stuff we all see cropping up: retail kiosks that can suggest products, refrigerators that can remind you to buy milk, doorbells that actually recognize faces, and even home‑assistant robots that can navigate a living‑room without knocking over a plant.

By contrast, the IQ‑2390 is built for the heavy‑duty side of things. Think machine‑vision cameras watching assembly lines, building‑automation systems that balance energy use, and rugged controllers that keep wind‑turbine farms humming.

One early adopter, San Diego‑based Tactus AI, is already testing the chips in its humanoid lab assistant, “Elsie.” CTO Casey Laris says the so‑called Dragonwing cores inside the processors are a good fit for “touch, fingers, joints – humanoid sensing in general.” He adds that the next wave of physical AI will need inexpensive, reliable compute that can still keep up with a robot’s sense of touch.

Qualcomm’s reputation for low‑power, high‑performance silicon comes from years of powering smartphones. After Apple’s recent decision to stop using Qualcomm modems, the company has been actively looking to diversify – and the Dragonwing line is a big part of that strategy.

Financially, the push seems to be paying off. In Q3 2026, the IoT division posted $1.83 billion in revenue, a 9 % rise over the same period a year earlier. CFO and COO Akash Palkhiwala highlighted the division’s “tremendous expertise in high performance and low power” during a Goldman Sachs summit in San Francisco.

Analysts say the timing couldn’t be better. As manufacturers chase greener, smarter factories and consumers demand devices that do more than just connect, Qualcomm’s new chips could become the quiet workhorse behind a new generation of intelligent products.

For now, the Q‑2390 and IQ‑2390 are just the first steps. Qualcomm’s roadmap hints at even tighter integration between its AI software stack and the hardware, meaning future gadgets might not only be smart – they’ll be aware, adaptable, and, hopefully, a little less annoying.