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

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, a new audio chip designed to bring Wi-Fi connectivity directly into extremely small devices such as wireless earbuds and audio-focused glasses. The company is presenting the platform as a route to higher-quality listening without relying only on a phone’s Bluetooth connection. It could also support a broader push into so-called intelligent hearables, including earbuds that incorporate cameras.

The central change is the addition of low-power Wi-Fi 6E within the main chip itself. Qualcomm says a compatible earbud or pair of audio glasses could join a household Wi-Fi network directly, then reach cloud services through that connection. In practical terms, that approach is intended to avoid a common limitation of conventional wireless listening: audio interruptions when a phone is left in another room, placed on a charger, or otherwise separated from the listener.

Wi-Fi has long looked attractive for wireless audio because it can carry more data than Bluetooth. Qualcomm previously argued that Wi-Fi-enabled earbuds could handle 24-bit, 96kHz lossless sound, a format that exceeds the bandwidth available through Bluetooth alone. The company raised that prospect in 2023 with its S7 Pro sound platform and its Expanded Personal Area Network, or XPAN, technology.

That earlier design, however, required manufacturers to add a second component for Wi-Fi. For products where every millimeter of internal space, battery capacity and weight matters, an additional chip may have made the concept harder to adopt. Qualcomm’s earlier materials described a two-chip approach, while the Elite Gen 2 folds Wi-Fi into the primary processor. The limited visible uptake of the earlier idea illustrates the challenge: Xiaomi’s 2025 Buds 5 Pro appear to have been the only known product using it, and they were not released worldwide.

Qualcomm says the newer Elite platform is 30 percent smaller than its predecessor, can use up to 40 percent less power, and provides twice the artificial-intelligence processing capacity. Those are company figures, and their importance will depend on how device makers use the available space and energy savings. Smaller, more efficient hardware could make Wi-Fi audio more realistic in compact products, where a larger battery or a separate radio chip can quickly complicate industrial design.

The chip is not limited to music playback. Qualcomm says it is working with HP on an unspecified product, collaborating closely with Bose, and developing a new intelligent-hearables category with Cleer. Qualcomm’s description of that Cleer effort points to earbuds fitted with cameras, extending the platform beyond sound into devices that could combine audio, sensors and on-device AI capabilities.

For now, the announcement is a component launch rather than a list of finished consumer products. HP’s product has not been identified, and Qualcomm has not named a retail model using the new platform. That leaves several open questions, including which manufacturers will commit to Wi-Fi hardware, how they will balance battery life against new capabilities, and whether customers will see enough benefit to move beyond familiar Bluetooth-based earbuds.

The technology also arrives after years in which Bluetooth has remained the standard connection for portable audio because it is widely supported and suited to compact, battery-powered accessories. Qualcomm’s revised design addresses one of the earlier Wi-Fi approach’s biggest practical obstacles by removing the separate chip. Whether that change finally turns Wi-Fi earbuds into a broader product category will become clearer when manufacturers disclose devices, test real-world range and power use, and decide how prominently to market lossless streaming and camera-enabled features.

Source: The Verge