Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon Sound for better wireless audio

Qualcomm has launched a new initiative for audio lovers. Qualcomm bundles a large number of its mobile hardware and software technologies under the new name Snapdragon Sound. According to Qualcomm, this will provide an optimized chain of high-end audio technologies and software for smartphones and other wireless audio products.

As you probably already know, a weak link in the audio chain can ruin your listening experience. For example, poor quality speakers can decimate the sound of your otherwise flawless, lossless audio collection. There may be many more vulnerabilities in modern wireless audio systems, ranging from the quality of the bluetooth codecs, latency, the data speed you get from your streaming service, to the battery life and wireless signal strength of your earbuds. The goal of Snapdragon Sound is to take the guesswork out of choosing a hassle-free product for high quality audio.

For us consumers, Qualcomm will release optimized devices with Snapdragon sound branding. To achieve this, devices must undergo a series of interoperability tests in a dedicated facility in Taiwan. These tests cover audio connectivity as well as robustness, latency and quality. The branding can be applied to headphones, earbuds, smartphones, smartwatches, PCs, and essentially any audio product that can be powered by Qualcomm’s technologies.

The main components of Snapdragon Sound include a number of Qualcomm hardware and software, including Bluetooth codecs and chips, active noise canceling, and super-wideband speech. These technologies are particularly popular in the Snapdragon 8 series mobile platforms, the FastConnect 6900 wireless platform, Qualcomm’s ANC technology, aptX Voice, aptX Adaptive with 24-bit Bluetooth playback at 96 kHz and 89 ms latency, as well as the Aqstic Hi-Fi DAC from Qualcomm used for up functions up to 32-bit 384 kHz playback. On the audio product side, Qualcomm’s QCC514x, QCC515x and QCC3056 series chipsets contain the required technologies.

See also: The best wireless noise-canceling earbuds

Snapdragon Sound devices offer the best end-to-end audio technology from Qualcomm. At the same time as the launch, Amazon Music and Qualcomm created a playlist called The Snapdragon Sound to demonstrate the features and benefits of Ultra HD music.

Xiaomi is the first mobile phone manufacturer to offer a Snapdragon Sound smartphone. Headphone maker Audio-Technica is also working on a Snapdragon Sound product. Snapdragon sound devices are expected to be available later this year. So watch out for more ecosystem announcements in the coming months.