The past few years have been a period of vigorous development in the global consumer electronics market, whether it is a mobile phone or a headset. Great progress has been made in technology and performance. The market is also full of flowers. You can see a dazzling array of mobile phones and earphones in stores, and consumers have many choices. However, we can also find that there is a big gap between the pairing and daily use experience of mobile phones and earphones of different brands. Even a few manufacturers in the head have technical pain points that are difficult to overcome.
Faced with this problem, Qualcomm launched a Snapdragon Sound audio technology platform in March 2021. The main purpose is to solve the current audio problems of mobile phones and headphones and create a more optimized immersive audio experience.
|1. Introduction to Snapdragon Sound
Snapdragon Sound is an audio technology platform of Qualcomm. This platform optimizes the combination of Qualcomm’s current latest chip hardware, audio and voice technologies, and aims to create a seamless immersive audio experience between terminals such as smartphones, wireless earbuds and headphones, and between terminals. Snapdragon Sound integrates and optimizes Qualcomm’s leading audio, connectivity and mobile technologies to provide consistent sound quality, reliable connections and low latency to solve common wireless audio problems.
The key elements of the Snapdragon Sound audio technology platform include: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 8 series mobile platform, Qualcomm FastConnect™ 6900 mobile connection system, Qualcomm QCC514x, QCC515x and QCC3056 series bluetooth audio SoC, Qualcomm Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology, Qualcomm aptX™ Adaptive , Support 24-bit 96kHz and 89 millisecond delay, Qualcomm aptX™ Voice ultra-wideband voice, Qualcomm Aqstic™ audio codec and smart speaker amplifier (WCD938x and WSA883x), Qualcomm audio and voice communication suite, etc.
In just a few months of launch, Snapdragon Sound has achieved a strong momentum of development worldwide. At present, 30 OEM manufacturers have signed technical agreements. Xiaomi, Edifier and Master & Dynamic have launched the first commercial products supporting this technology for consumers. The Insiders Smartphone designed by Asus is also one of the first products.
This article summarizes 4 headphone products that currently have adopted Snapdragon Sound.
|2. Which headsets currently on the market support Snapdragon Sound
Qualcomm’s aptX™ Lossless technology can provide CD-quality 16-bit 44.1kHz lossless audio for true wireless earbuds and headphones through bluetooth wireless connection. With Snapdragon Sound technology, OEMs can support a range of audio formats and use robust connections to create a reliable listening experience. Including CD quality lossless audio, 24-bit 48kHz and 24-bit 96kHz high-definition audio.
As you can see on Qualcomm’s official website, there are currently 4 headsets on the market that support Snapdragon Sound, namely Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro, Goertek ROX, Cleer Ally Plus II, and M&D.
①. Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro (Price: $112)
This is Xiaomi’s first flagship noise-canceling headset, and it supports Snapdragon Sound technology. The appearance adopts a mirror light design, like black crystal, which is in line with the fashionable tone of young people. Simple and smooth headphone lines, you can easily switch modes, pause music and other functions by simply pressing short and long pressing on the headphone handle.
Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro earbuds has an audio sharing function, which enables two sets of earphones to be connected to the same device, so that you can listen to classes and watch movies together. Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro is based on Qualcomm aptX™ Adaptive audio technology and bluetooth 5.2, which can achieve an ultra-low latency of 89ms, allowing users to synchronize audio and video when playing games and watching movies. In addition, Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro also incorporates aptX™ Voice ultra-wideband voice technology, which supports ultra-clear voice quality up to 32kHz. When the user connects the headset to make a call, it achieves the effect of high-definition calls and supports dual-transparency mode. Allow users to pay attention to the ambient sound when wearing headphones.
Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro has a single battery life of 7 hours, and the overall battery life is up to 28 hours. At the same time, the charging case supports the Qi wireless charging standard, is compatible with a variety of device charging, and has a fast charging function. It can be used for 2 hours after charging for 5 minutes.
②. Goertek ROX
Goertek introduced Goertek Rox, a new TWS headset reference design that supports Snapdragon Sound technology. The in-ear compact form factor uses Qualcomm QCC5141 bluetooth audio SOC (system chip), which can provide users with high-definition music, as well as clear voice calls and ultra-low latency game audio experience, as well as fast and stable bluetooth connection and longer The battery life is up to 5 hours when the active noise reduction is turned on.
Goertek Rox has high-quality audio performance and can automatically adjust the bit rate according to the quality of the RF environment. Supports high-definition audio and ultra-clear voice calls, supports ultra-low audio delay in game mode, the full-link audio delay of mobile headsets is only 88 milliseconds, supports high-performance hybrid ANC (active noise reduction), and the noise reduction depth can reach 40dB.
③. Cleer Ally Plus II (Price: $129.99)
Cleer Ally Plus II adaptive active noise reduction headphones also support Snapdragon Sound technology. Created by the chief designer of Rolls-Royce Phantom, it is made of silicone material, unique umbrella-shaped front end and extended fin design, which can evenly distribute the pressure in the ear canal.
Adopting aptX Adaptive advanced decoding technology, it can adaptively adjust the sound quality and delay when used in scenes such as games, videos and music. It supports bluetooth version 5.2 and binaural mirroring connection technology to achieve non-inductive delay and fast and stable connection, and reach IPX4 Waterproof grade, effectively prevent sweating and drizzle wet water.
Up to 33 hours of battery life, but also supports fast charging, fast charging for 5 minutes, you can listen for 1 hour.
④. M&D
M&D earphones also support Snapdragon Sound, and the appearance color is dark blue. Coupled with the ultra-wideband 32 kHz voice quality provided by the Snapdragon Sound sound design, Snapdragon Sound uses aptX voice to help significantly improve the sound quality. Snapdragon Sound can intelligently reduce the background sound, resulting in a better user experience.
In terms of latency, M&D earbuds uses aptX adaptive audio, designed to completely synchronize with the actions the user sees on the screen. The delay is only 89 milliseconds, so the delay time between the phone and the user’s earbuds is negligible.
|3. Summary
Snapdragon Sound audio technology will be officially launched in March 2021. Snapdragon Sound technology upgrades the existing aptX audio protocol specification to 24-bit 96kHz, reaching a level consistent with Sony’s LDAC, and can further improve the wireless audio experience. Optimized from the aspects of hardware, software, wireless connection, etc., the purpose is to solve the most important problems of existing wireless audio, improve sound quality, connection stability and reduce delay.
In just a few months after the launch of Snapdragon Sound audio technology, 30 OEM manufacturers have signed technical agreements. There are already 4 headset products that support this technology, namely Xiaomi FlipBuds Pro, Goertek ROX, Cleer Ally Plus II, and M&D earbuds. With the support of Snapdragon Sound audio technology, the performance of these products has also been further improved. We look forward to the continuous upgrade of Snapdragon Sound, bringing better audio optimization technology.
We will continue to pay attention to the dynamics of Snapdragon Sound and bring you more detailed reports.