Following the original Snapdragon Sound announcement in 2021, Qualcomm announced the availability of aptX Lossless as another major tool in the platform arsenal for differentiation in new true wireless stereo earbuds, headphones and speakers. Using the opportunity of #MWC22, Qualcomm now expanded its overview of the platforms for developers, with two new ultra-low power wireless audio platforms. The new Qualcomm S5 Sound Platform (QCC517x) and Qualcomm S3 Sound Platform (QCC307x) integrations with support for Snapdragon Sound are optimized platforms that offer dual-mode, combining traditional Bluetooth wireless audio and the latest LE Audio technology standard, including support for audio sharing and broadcasting.
Among the capabilities, the new Snapdragon Sound integration offers support for Lossless CD-quality audio over Bluetooth, stereo recording via earbuds and 25% lower latency for game audio (compared to previous generations) at only 68ms, and with voice back channel. New Qualcomm Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation technology also allows for developers to attempt reaching superior performance versus leading alternatives. For the smartphone manufacturers, these technologies will be fully integrated with Qualcomm's mobile processors.
"We can deliver the ultimate wireless sound experience Utilizing Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 and newly announced 7800 subsystem and Snapdragon Sound technology. For example, in addition to being the first to deliver Lossless audio, we’ve added ultra-low latency gaming mode with in-game chat, and the ability for earbuds to record content in stereo sound which will add huge value for a new generation of creators,” says James Chapman, vice president and general manager, Voice, Music & Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. “In these tiny platforms, we integrated our Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation in a dedicated hardware block, and as a result are bringing substantial noise cancellation improvements, to whatever is in a listener’s earbud.”
The new platforms offer audio OEMs broad flexibility for device customization at a range of tiers, unlocking new design opportunities for feature packed audio devices that support 16-bit/44.1kHz Lossless Bluetooth (CD) audio quality, while still being able to offer 24-bit/96kHz high resolution Bluetooth audio quality with aptxHD, 32kHz super wideband voice call quality with robust connectivity even in very busy RF environments.
The Qualcomm S5 Sound Platform (QCC517x) and Qualcomm S3 Sound Platform (QCC307x) also support stereo recording and gaming mode capabilities that are based on the Bluetooth LE Audio specification. These user experiences are driven by the smartphone, and the Qualcomm implementations with dual-mode Bluetooth radio on these new sound platforms are part of a Snapdragon ecosystem that’s optimized across the audio chain.
A superior noise cancellation experience is also possible from the platform with a dedicated hardware block, Qualcomm's third-generation Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) that improves on both performance and behavior. "We’ve introduced new sophisticated filters that enable the Qualcomm Adaptive ANC performance to be pushed to the max. The result is stronger, wider, and deeper noise cancelling performance compared to leading competitors, especially at low frequencies and at the peak attenuation range. We’ve also designed this Qualcomm Adaptive ANC for a powerful yet seamless user experience, so it adapts to wind noise, adapts the leak-through depending on the users’ environment, prevents howling noises and provides a consistent level of performance day to day, from user to user, no matter how the earbud fits," Chapman adds.
For voice calls, the platforms offer both Qualcomm aptX Voice Audio to deliver super wideband voice quality with 32kHz sampled audio and a flat 16kHz frequency response. And Qualcomm added support for up to 3-microphone cVc Echo Cancelling and Noise Suppression (ECNS), which uses beamforming to cleanly capture speech.
"We’ve made it possible to deliver all this, and a whole lot more, by re-architecting our flagship ultra-low power Bluetooth audio design to provide double the compute (compared to the previous generation), with no compromise to our ultra-low power performance. We've also delivered three times the memory in the Qualcomm S5 Sound Platform compared to our previous gen platform, with new optimizations for AI. Not only has this helped our platform be efficient, but our inventive customers now have the ability to implement AI-based audio features," Chapman concludes.
The Qualcomm S5 and S3 Sound Platforms are sampling now with commercial products expected in the second half of 2022.
www.qualcomm.com
