Qualcomm’s new ‘Elite’ sound chip might finally deliver the Wi-Fi earbud dream

Also, they can power earbuds with cameras.

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 at its Snapdragon Summit on November 14 2023, positioning it as the first audio platform to combine Wi‑Fi 6E with Bluetooth LE Audio. The chip streams lossless audio up to 24‑bit/96 kHz with end‑to‑end latency below 20 milliseconds while consuming roughly 5 milliwatts in active mode. It also integrates an image‑signal processor that can handle 12‑megapixel video, allowing earbuds or audio glasses to embed a camera for AR applications, with sample shipments to partners slated for Q1 2024.

Adding the Wi‑Fi‑enabled Sound Elite Gen 2 chip increases the bill of materials for a typical wireless earbud by approximately eight dollars. Industry analysts estimate that this cost uplift could push the retail price of flagship models up by about twenty dollars compared with current Bluetooth‑only versions. For consumers who buy a pair of premium earbuds each year, that means an extra expense of roughly twenty dollars per purchase.

For over a decade, wireless audio has relied on Bluetooth, which caps lossless streaming at around 1 Mbps and suffers dropouts when the source device moves out of range. Qualcomm’s earlier aptX Adaptive and LDAC codecs improved quality but still could not bypass Bluetooth’s inherent bandwidth limits. The Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 marks the first time a mainstream audio SoC couples Wi‑Fi 6E’s multi‑gigabit throughput with a low‑power ISP, addressing both fidelity and the long‑standing power‑efficiency hurdle that kept Wi‑Fi earbuds from market viability.

Qualcomm plans to showcase reference earbuds and audio glasses featuring the Sound Elite Gen 2 at CES 2025, with the exhibition opening on January 7 2025. Partner announcements from companies such as Jabra and Bose are expected shortly after the show, targeting product launches in the second quarter of 2025. Counterintuitively, the Wi‑Fi‑based audio path can consume less power than Bluetooth LE Audio for the same listening time because the chip offloads digital‑signal processing to the Wi‑Fi radio, potentially extending playback by up to 15 percent.