Qualcomm wants your next pair of earbuds to do a lot more than just play music and cancel noise, and it actually wants them to think. The chipmaker has officially announced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 chipset for audio wearables, with a heavy focus on AI performance.
Moreover, going by the spec sheet, this isn't just a minor bump but is rather Qualcomm's biggest swing yet at making earbuds feel like genuine AI companions.
What's New with the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2
Qualcomm says the new chipset can deliver up to 2x greater on-device AI performance while using up to 40% less power than before. In real-world use, this could mean earbuds and glasses can run local AI models without draining the battery as quickly.
The whole package also has a 30% smaller footprint than before, with lossless aptX audio and AI-enhanced ANC that adapts to your surroundings in real time. There's also a smarter microphone pickup algorithm for clearer voice capture.
Qualcomm's own local models can apparently let critical ambient sounds, like sirens, punch through the noise cancellation, so you're not directly cut off from the world.
Perhaps the most practically useful addition, though, is built-in Wi-Fi. The Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 supports Wi-Fi 6E, letting OEMs offer either on-device or cloud-based AI access directly from the earbuds. This is a world first for a hearable chipset.
From the looks of it, Qualcomm isn't just talking about better ANC and battery life, but is clearly building toward a future of camera-equipped earbuds with agentic AI assistants. The chipmaker is leaning into contextual image recognition for any camera-equipped earbuds built on this silicon.
This lines up with the swirl of rumours around Apple's AirPods with built-in cameras. Looks like Qualcomm is preparing for that, as the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 will power the Android side of things.
However, Qualcomm hasn't named any specific upcoming wearable devices that will use the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2. It will be interesting to see whether people would even want camera-equipped earbuds in the first place.
Not to mention that there could be privacy concerns about your earbuds being able to capture any video and use it as AI training data. Only time will tell how it all pans out, so stay tuned for all the updates!
This also comes just a day after the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 launch, so Qualcomm has certainly been on a roll at the Summit this year.
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