Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 launched with AI and Wi-Fi 6E for audio wearables
Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 Platform, a new platform for audio wearables that combines high-quality sound with on-device AI and low-power connectivity. It is designed for a new generation of earbuds, headphones, audio glasses and even camera-enabled wearables that can respond to users and their surroundings in real time. Here is what the new platform brings to the table.
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Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 focuses on AI-powered audio
The new platform delivers up to 2x greater AI capability than the previous generation, allowing multiple AI tasks to run at the same time. Qualcomm also claims up to 40 percent lower power consumption and a 30 percent smaller footprint, which should help manufacturers build smaller wearables without giving up much battery life.
One of the bigger changes is the addition of micro-power Wi-Fi 6E, which lets compatible wearables connect directly to the cloud without depending entirely on a paired smartphone. Qualcomm says this could allow users to access AI assistants and other services directly from the wearable, while also making it easier to add new features over time.
The platform is designed for more than just listening to music. Qualcomm highlights use cases such as real-time translation, contextual assistance, personalised hearing and multimodal AI, where audio can work together with information from cameras and other sensors.
Better sound and clearer voice capture
Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 also builds upon Qualcomm’s existing audio technologies. It supports aptX Lossless for high-quality wireless audio and XPAN for extending connectivity beyond the limits of traditional Bluetooth.
Qualcomm has also upgraded its audio processing with fifth-generation ANC, cVc technology and support for more advanced microphone setups. These improvements should help devices block out background noise more effectively and pick up the user’s voice more clearly, which becomes increasingly important when wearables have to interact with AI assistants.
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The new Snapdragon Audio Sense Solution also combines microphones with dedicated algorithms to help devices better understand both the user’s voice and surrounding sounds. This could be especially useful for wearables that need to react to what is happening around the user rather than simply play audio.
Qualcomm says Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 will support a wide range of designs, including earbuds, headphones, open-ear and hybrid devices, audio glasses and camera-enabled earbuds. The company also sees the platform being used in future multimodal wearables that combine audio, vision and AI.
What products can we expect from Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2?
Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 moves the platform beyond regular earbuds and headphones. Qualcomm says it will support earbuds, headphones, open-ear devices, audio glasses and camera-enabled wearables, with AI, voice processing and low-power Wi-Fi built into the platform.
We have already seen parts of this with Snapdragon Sound products such as the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro, which uses XPAN for Wi-Fi-based audio connectivity, while products such as the EarFun Air Pro 4+ show the platform’s focus on sound quality and call clarity.
With Elite Gen 2, Qualcomm is now targeting more advanced use cases such as real-time translation, contextual AI assistance and personalised hearing. Camera-equipped wearables could also adopt this by combining what a user hears with what they see, while direct Wi-Fi connectivity could allow these devices to access AI services without relying as heavily on a phone.
Qualcomm wants earbuds and other audio wearables to become everyday AI interfaces, rather than devices mainly used for listening to music and taking calls. If that is achievable, and if so, how long it will take to happen remains to be seen.
