Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon Sound, a re-vamp of its wireless audio tech for mobile devices

Terms such as Qualcomm aptX or Aqstic may be familiar to OEMs or even consumers looking to buy or make the ideal new pair of wireless earbuds or headphones. Today (March 4, 2021), their maker has unveiled a new term intended to encompass all of them (or their latest versions, at least): Snapdragon Sound. It is a new platform for all the technology that might connect a phone with a Snapdragon 8-series SoC to a new, compatible personal audio device.

To that end, the term Snapdragon Sound can now also be applied to processors such as the 888 or 870 - presumably so buyers can find the ideal accessories for new phones powered by either chipset. It also consists of the QCC514x, QCC515x and QCC3056 lines of Bluetooth audio SoCs, as well as the FastConnect 6900 system by which they connect to other devices.

Snapdragon Sound also now offers Qualcomm aptX Adaptive (which supports up to 24-bit 96kHz audio with latency that goes down to 89ms, as well as the new "super wideband" aptX Voice technology. They are accompanied by the Qualcomm Audio and Voice Communication Suite.

The latest Aqstic audio codec and WCD938x/WSA883x smart speaker amplifiers are also now part of Snapdragon Sound, as is the OEM's system for ANC. To date, the new brand has been adopted by Audio-Technica and Xiaomi thus far, who may now release new products with this badge later in 2021.

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