is a elder publishing company and founding associate of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
What if your wireless earbuds — or audio glasses — could stream high-quality lossless audio that doesn’t cut out whenever you depart your phone on the bedside charger or buried in the couch? Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 is its archetypal to merge “micro-power Wi-Fi 6E” correct into the chip, so they can nexus immediately to your residence Wi-Fi network, and from there to the cloud.
If that appears akin a acquainted promise, it’s likely since Qualcomm promised item akin rear in 2023 with the “S7 Pro audio platform” and its Expanded Personal Area Network (XPAN) tech, saying that Wi-Fi earbuds can do what Bluetooth solitary cannot. Namely, 24-bit 96kHz lossless audio that can’t fit into Bluetooth’s meager bandwidth.
But that old 7-series phase required a distinct Wi-Fi chip to provision you Wi-Fi earbuds, and it seems that wasn’t a winning equation for getting makers of incredibly small devices to clasp the tech! In fact, we’ve lone always heard of one: Xiaomi’s 2025 Buds 5 Pro, which didn’t get a earth release.
Image: Qualcomm
Now that Wi-Fi no longer requires an additional chip, perchance the idea can obtain off. Qualcomm says the Elite is additionally 30 percent smaller, consumes up to 40 percent small power, and has twice the AI handling capabilities of the former gen chip, all of which have to be music to equipment makers’ ears.
So far, Qualcomm says it’s operating alongside HP on one particular unnamed product, is “working closely alongside Bose,” and is “pioneering a new category of intelligent hearables” (read: earbuds alongside built-in cameras) alongside Cleer.
Follow topics and authors from this narrative to see additional akin this in your personalized homepage nourish and to obtain email updates.
