Qualcomm’s new ‘Elite’ sound chip might finally deliver the Wi-Fi earbud dream

Your wireless earbuds could stream lossless audio without dropping connections when you're away from your phone.

Qualcomm has unveiled its new Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 chip, designed to enable high-fidelity wireless audio streaming directly over Wi-Fi. This marks a significant integration as it's the first Qualcomm sound chip to include "micro-power Wi-Fi 6E" directly on board, eliminating the need for a separate Wi-Fi chip. This addresses a key hurdle that limited the adoption of previous Qualcomm technologies, such as the S7 Pro sound platform, which promised similar lossless audio capabilities but required an additional chip. The company aims to deliver 24-bit 96kHz lossless audio, surpassing Bluetooth's limitations. The new chip is also 30% smaller, uses up to 40% less power, and offers double the AI processing power of its predecessor. Qualcomm is collaborating with HP and Bose, and exploring new product categories like hearables with built-in cameras with Cleer.

Qualcomm's integration of Wi-Fi 6E directly into its new Elite Gen 2 sound chip is a critical step toward realizing the long-promised potential of truly wireless, high-fidelity audio devices. By eliminating the need for a secondary Wi-Fi chip, Qualcomm significantly reduces the size and power requirements, making it more feasible for manufacturers to integrate this advanced connectivity into compact wearables like earbuds and audio glasses.

This move directly impacts the audio hardware market by lowering the barrier to entry for manufacturers seeking to offer premium wireless audio experiences that go beyond the capabilities of standard Bluetooth, potentially accelerating the adoption of lossless audio and new smart audio features.