Qualcomm XPAN: Wi-Fi headphones with lossless 24-bit 192 kHz Hi-Fi audio are coming

Qualcomm XPAN was officially announced back in 2023, and first products that support the new standard were originally expected to hit the market in 2024. But thus far, there has been no sign of Wi-Fi headphones. That’s about to change, as Qualcomm has now confirmed that the very first wireless XPAN earbuds will be launched "very soon".

There are no exact details on the first headphones or the exact launch date, but Qualcomm is apparently convinced that its latest audio technology will reach consumers soon. In order to use XPAN, headphones and earbuds must be equipped with a Snapdragon S7+ Gen 1, while the paired smartphone or tablet must also be equipped with a Qualcomm chipset with XPAN support. If these requirements are met, Hi-Fi music can be transmitted losslessly at up to 24-bit at 192 kHz and a bandwidth of up to 29 Mbps. This is about 29 times more than the bandwidth that Qualcomm aptX Lossless can rely on via Bluetooth.

XPAN supposedly has a very low latency even at this high data rate, which would make it suitable for gaming enthusiasts as well. The wireless range is also said to be noticeably longer than Bluetooth, and Qualcomm specifically mentions that headphones can keep their connection throughout an entire building. While XPAN is supposed to be more power-efficient than conventional Wi-Fi, it is likely to consume more power than Bluetooth. However, the chip can automatically switch from XPAN to Bluetooth when lossy content is played. XPAN also supports spatial Audio as well as simultaneous audio playback from multiple devices, similar to Bluetooth Multipoint.