Airoha's "flagship" and "professional" series of chipsets support LE audio and Bluetooth 5.3 for multiple applications such as True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds, Bluetooth smart speakers, assistive listening devices, and Bluetooth transmitters. The products are currently being tested by many manufactures and brands, and are expected to be available worldwide in the first half of 2023.
10-Year Milestone
"The LE Audio specifications are the most important milestone reached in the Bluetooth audio industry in the past decade. With the support of our strong R&D team consisting of hundreds of engineers who have accumulated nearly a decade of technical expertise, Airoha became one of the world's first certified chip providers. This supports many customers to accelerate the launch of their end devices. The wireless audio innovation brought by the latest Bluetooth LE technology will expedite the process by which consumers and businesses enjoy the convenient and innovative services it brings, fully demonstrating the Airoha's vision and business philosophy," says Yuchuan Yang, Sr. Vice President of Airoha.
With Bluetooth LE Audio certification adding to the company's 10 years of technology investment, Airoha intends to continue to support the global industry with leading Bluetooth products. "Auracast broadcast audio sharing, the most important technology in the Bluetooth LE Audio qualification, is the industry standard for one-to-many unidirectional audio playback, which will dramatically change the audio service model of existing dedicated earbuds," the company foresees.
"As Auracast improves the convenience and experience of users and reduces the cost of service providers, it will inspire more innovative application services and scenarios. For example, museum tours no longer need to provide dedicated headset rentals, and visitors can receive audio services inside by wearing portable earbuds of their own. Other venues such as gatherings, ball games, concerts, and even corporate events can also use this feature to provide customized and innovative services that will dramatically change the consumer experience and corporate service model," they add.
In addition to supporting broadcast audio, Airoha expects that Bluetooth LE Audio products will also offer two major advantages: improved sound quality and low latency. "In the past, true wireless stereo (TWS) Bluetooth earbuds were limited by size, weight and battery capacity, which made it difficult to find a balance between hardware requirements and sound quality. According to the Bluetooth SIG, the LC3 codec introduced by LE Audio can transmit audio at half the bitrate of traditional SBC without compromising sound quality. In addition, LE Audio reduces the latency issue by 70%. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, LC3 will become a standard as a high-quality and power-saving Bluetooth audio codec."
Airoha will be launching two series of Bluetooth LE Audio chips to bring these new experiences and changes to the global wireless audio market, and will also introduce a high performing and low-power consuming Software Development Kit (SDK). Integrating the full range of features required by different Bluetooth applications, the SDK further simplifies the R&D design of Bluetooth connectivity and allows developers and designers to accelerate the time-to-market of their end devices and create a new, seamless user experience.
Flagship Series: The performance leader Airoha AB1585 supports the latest LE Audio and Bluetooth 5.3, with built-in HiFi 5 DSP for high computing power, suitable for running AI algorithms and provides customizable and flexible applications for headphones, TWS, speakers and assistive listening devices, etc., while simultaneously allowing for personalized wireless audio experience beyond imagination.
Professional Series: The low-power consumption and highly-integrated Airoha AB1565/AB1568 supports the latest LE Audio and Bluetooth 5.3 system which is suitable for headphones, TWS, speakers and Bluetooth transmitters. It also enables quick mass introduction of market applications for the enterprise and a professional user experience.
Airoha Technology Corp. is a fabless IC design house and one of MediaTek's subsidiaries, dedicated to Bluetooth, Satellite, Broadband and Ethernet technology. Its fixed network team was first established in 2001, followed by the wireless communication team, a spin-off from MediaTek, in 2017. All members of both teams have more than 20 years of experience in their respective technical fields. Airoha has the broadest customer base including almost all leading brands in the above four technology areas.
www.airoha.com
