Chip company Qualcomm and Qt Group, provider of frameworks for creating GUIs, are broadening their existing partnership. By integrating Qt’s multi-platform development tools with Qualcomm’s processors, they aim to shorten the time-to-market for IoT devices.
The collaboration should make it easier for software vendors to develop and test UI solutions that run on Qualcomm processors. In addition, the companies aim to simplify the development of Systems on Modules (SoMs, or compact, integrated computing systems), speeding up the production of devices such as robots and security cameras.
The two companies already collaborate in the automotive industry. By extending this collaboration to the Internet of Things (IoT) market, they hope to facilitate the simultaneous work of software developers and graphic designers within the same framework.
3D graphics on low-powered devices
Qt’s cross-platform framework allows IoT manufacturers to display advanced 3D graphics on low-powered devices. According to the Qt Group, it also handles resources more efficiently than other available options. Another benefit is that the partnership will give Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) access to the software development and quality assurance tools that Qt has in its portfolio, which should lead to an improved and faster production process.
According to both parties, their partnership provides an ideal scenario for cross-platform development of low-power devices and embedded systems, which are common in the IoT industry.
The first set of chips with Qt support
The first Qualcomm products with Qt support are the Qualcomm SA8155P, the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Development Kit, the Snapdragon chips 820D, 8155P and 6155P and the Qualcomm 8195. Support for other products will be available later, depending on customer demand.
Qualcomm is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers. The company provides processors for various industries, including smartphones, cars, and Internet of Things devices.
The Qt Group specializes in developing software tools and frameworks for creating advanced graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and cross-platform applications. Its software is widely in use in the automotive, industrial automation, healthcare and entertainment industries, among others.
New Qt version released
A few days ago, Qt released version 6.7 of its Qt framework. This version offers improved support for C++ 20, variable fonts, and native icon libraries on Apple, Android, and Windows.
Platform support has been updated to include macOS 14, iOS 17, Windows 11 23H2 and Android 14, and additional Linux distributions. SVG support has also been improved. The new version of the Qt Creator development environment (version 13) comes with Copilot integration, which requires a separate subscription and license.
Also read: Qualcomm makes on-device AI more readily available to developers