Qualcomm unveils AI chip for earbuds with standalone apps — Live Science
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 audio chip for wearable devices with artificial intelligence features at its annual Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii. The platform is designed for earbuds, audio glasses, speakers and other devices, and is intended to enable apps to run without a constant connection to a smartphone, Live Science reports.
Apps and voice commands
According to Qualcomm, devices based on the new chip will be able to store apps in their own memory and, when Wi-Fi is available, synchronize with cloud services, including ChatGPT. Users will be able to make voice requests, while the AI model will be able to perform actions such as creating entries in an online calendar or making purchases online.
For connection to a phone or computer, the platform supports Bluetooth and ultra-low-power Wi-Fi channels. Qualcomm says that such Wi-Fi consumes less energy than a conventional Wi-Fi connection, but has higher latency and a lower peak speed. At the same time, transmitting audio over Wi-Fi may improve playback quality compared with Bluetooth, which compresses data during transmission.
AI, noise cancellation and sensors
The chip has an eNPU AI accelerator for operating voice assistants, transcription, translation and generating so-called contextual awareness. The system can continuously collect data about the user’s surroundings to supplement a personal profile and use it for subsequent requests.
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The platform also supports adaptive selective active noise cancellation: users will be able to isolate needed sounds, including sirens or the voices of interlocutors, and suppress the remaining noise. Standard machine-learning algorithms rather than large language models are used for this function. A separate subsystem can provide lossless audio streaming.
Qualcomm is also considering using the chip in earbuds with built-in cameras and other devices with sensors. Company representatives said that lenses in future earbuds may have low resolution, while an AI mask is intended to automatically hide people in the frame. According to Qualcomm, the new chip performs 128 billion operations per second — twice as many as the Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 — consumes 40% less energy and is 30% smaller than the previous platform.
At the same time, the company did not provide data on the impact of the new features on device battery life compared with regular earbuds without AI. Qualcomm representative Andrew Leister said that users may experience faster battery drain because the new devices are designed for continuous use.
