Qualcomm is releasing a software development kit that it hopes will help Android developers take advantage of the Snapdragon processor line. The SDK includes a set of APIs for the Snapdragon S4 8960 processor, and Qualcomm says it will be expanding to more of the Snapdragon line over time. Among other things, the tools included will help manufacturers and app developers add facial processing, surround sound, low-power geofencing, and more sensor gestures to their interfaces. Currently, a developer preview is available; the final version will be pushed out in the coming months.

Although Qualcomm already offers development hardware and HTML5 APIs, releasing an SDK signals a more unified approach to the Snapdragon line and makes it easier to add some features that weren't widely available before. It's also a response to Nvidia's Tegra processors, which can already be used with the Tegra Zone SDK. The current version of the kit is available on Qualcomm's developer site.