Qualcomm 's Ultra-Low Power Bluetooth Audio SoCs Improve Wireless Sound
Qualcomm today announced its next generation of ultra-low-power Bluetooth Systems on a Chip (SoCs), designed to deliver "truly" wireless support with Qualcomm TrueWireless Mirroring technology.
Optimized for use in true wireless earbuds and hearables, the Qualcomm QCC514X (premium tier) and Qualcomm QCC304X (entry/mid-tier) SoCs are designed to enable improved connectivity, increased battery life and comfort, integrated dedicated hardware for Hybrid Qualcomm Active Noise Cancellation (Hybrid ANC), Voice Assistant support and premium wireless sound and voice quality.
These new solutions now support the Qualcomm TrueWireless Mirroring technology. With Qualcomm TrueWireless Mirroring, one earbud is wirelessly connected to the phone via Bluetooth while the other bud mirrors the connected bud and is engineered to deliver a rapid swap under several scenarios. For example, if the user removes the connected bud from their ear, the mirroring bud is designed to take over the connection to the phone, to avoid any interruption of streaming music or an active voice call with no action required by the user. Qualcomm TrueWireless Mirroring is also engineered to manage a single Bluetooth address so only one “device” shows up when the user is pairing their earbuds to a phone.
The new SoCs also boast integrated Hybrid ANC technology. The dedicated ANC hardware integrated in the SoC enables super-low latency leak-through of the outside environment to allow for natural awareness of the surroundings, making ANC not just for airplane use, but applications in sports, office environments and other places throughout the user’s day. The QCC514x and QCC304x SoCs are also optimized to deliver leading power consumption under various use cases, with up to 13 hours’ playtime based on 65mAh battery, depending on settings and other factors. Qualcomm claims that with ANC enabled, there is minimal impact on battery life, allowing consumers extended battery life. Additionally, the extended playtime on the device allows for the shrinking of the battery used in the charging case and a more compact design that readily fits in a pocket.
At the premium tier, the QCC5141 offers dedicated support for Always on Voice (wake-word) activation for multiple voice ecosystems. For entry/mid-tiers, the QCC304x family offers push-button voice activation for multiple voice ecosystems, enabling OEMs to add voice assistant capability.