Snapdragon Sound delivers CD-quality, lossless audio over Bluetooth

Qualcomm’s latest tech addresses the rising demand of high-quality audio for wireless devices

Snapdragon Sound

Aiming to make high-quality audio accessible to all, Qualcomm developed and launched Snapdragon Sound earlier this year. The new technology is designed to bring refined and lossless audio to wireless systems.

At an exclusive event in New York hosted by Steve Aoki, Qualcomm celebrated the success of Snapdragon Sound with having 30 OEMs on board and the first commercial products from Xiaomi, Edifier, and Master & Dynamic soon rolling out to consumer markets.

“With Snapdragon Sound we’ve taken a new systems-level approach, looking at the complete audio chain from mobile to earbuds and introducing new ways to think about sound quality,” said James Chapman, vice president and general manager, Voice, Music and Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. “By optimizing across the entire audio chain, we can enable our customers to deliver ultra-low latency for gaming, crystal clear voice calls and high-quality music listening, all with reliable and consistent connectivity to ensure seamless user experiences.”

Alongside the celebration, Qualcomm announced Qualcomm aptX Lossless technology to help deliver CD-quality, 16-bit 44.1kHz lossless audio over Bluetooth. Soon, wireless peripherals such as TWS earbuds and headphones will be able to enjoy lossless, high-quality audio over Bluetooth connections. Various audio formats will also be supported including CD lossless, HD 24-bit 48kHz, and high-resolution 24-bit 96kHz. We got the opportunity to listen to Qualcomm aptX Lossless technology and walked away impressed by the amount of detail the tech adds to your everyday listening experience.

A couple of key brands, including Motorola and Amazon Music, will soon offer this technology with their devices and services.

Qualcomm has also released The State of Sound — its annual global survey of 6,000 consumers. The report details the increased use of wireless audio peripherals because of the transition and rise of work-from-home setups.

According to the report, 65% of the test group used peripherals to listen to music leisurely while 57% would be on video or voice calls for work. Gaming also plays a large part in Qualcomm’s decision to pursue high-quality, wireless audio transmission, as the survey discovered that 46% of users game on their smartphones at least twice a week. This helped Qualcomm to conclude that there’s a rise in demand for high-quality audio with low latency.