Qualcomm wants to make earbuds smarter with S7 and S7 Pro Sound Gen 1 platforms

Qualcomm announced the S7 and S7 Pro Gen 1 Sound platforms at its Snapdragon Summit. They are designed for earbuds, headphones, and speakers.

The chipmaker claims the platforms deliver six times more computing power and almost 100 times more AI power than previous generations, with advanced connectivity options.

The S7 Pro features micro-power Wi-Fi to extend its range of audio devices, more than what Bluetooth is capable of, which will allow users to walk around a home, building and campus while listening to music or making calls.

Further, the S7 Pro supports up to 192kHz multi-channel lossless music streaming and enhanced multi-channel spatial audio for gaming.

With Snapdragon Sound and Qualcomm Expanded Personal Area Network Technology (XPAN), the S7 Pro offers high bit-rate audiophile music streaming delivered over Wi-Fi. The platform also uses AI to help hearing enhancement technologies get a better seamless user experience by understanding and adapting to the user’s needs throughout the day. Qualcomm uses the example of on-device AI learning to allow active noise cancellation (ANC) to transition seamlessly and intelligently between ANC modes based on the immediate environment.

Further, ANC also automatically and dynamically adapts to provide strong performance based on different variables, including variations in fit, the earbud becoming loose in the ear, or as you move.

Transparency mode is also available, allowing users to hear the outside world.