Artificial intelligence has enabled more conversational interaction between people and their devices, with voice emerging as the next step in that experience.
On Wednesday, Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, which the company is describing as its first platform that combines audio and voice technology with on-device intelligence to support agentic experiences. Essentially, this chip is meant to power audio wearables capable of running on-device AI models, such as smart glasses, earbuds, watches or pins, which Qualcomm claims are in high demand.
"Our research tells us that up to 70% of users want advanced AI capabilities in their wearable devices,' said Ziad Asghar, Qualcomm's senior vice president and general manager of XR, wearables, and personal AI, in the release.
Compared to its predecessor, Qualcomm claims that the chip has double the AI capability while consuming 40% less power and having up to a 30% smaller footprint. This is enough to support multiple AI experiences, such as agents, to operate simultaneously. While this chipset isn't meant for AI wearables that use the camera to take photos, such as the Meta Ray-Bans, which use the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 processor, it can be used for wearables with cameras used to gather context, such as the Brilliant Labs Halo glasses.
Beyond intelligent experiences, the chipset also improves sound quality and connectivity. For instance, AI-driven features adapt to the listener and their environment, including 5th-generation Qualcomm ANC and Snapdragon Audio Sense Solution, which enable improved noise cancellation and speech capture, which is especially critical for communicating with AI and receiving intended assistance.
Our Deeper View
Qualcomm has been an unsung hero behind the rise of AI wearables, specifically smart glasses. Not only does it power the most popular glasses on the market, the Meta Ray-Bans, but also most cutting-edge XR and AR headsets, such as XREAL and Snap Specs. Meta Ray-Ban competitors like the ones from Google and Samsung will also use the Qualcomm chips. However, today's announcement is timely, as, unlike the aforementioned products, it is meant to power devices that cannot take photos, which will likely see increased production and popularity amid rising public concern over privacy and non-consensual filming. These audio-only, non-content-capturing devices have the potential to capture a new set of users who only want the wearables for the sake of AI use cases but don't want to run the risk of making people uncomfortable with potential filming.
Disclaimer: Sabrina Ortiz's travel to Snapdragon Summit was paid for by Qualcomm. The Deep View's coverage is editorially independent from the companies we cover.