Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound Promises Seamless, Studio-Grade Audio Quality

Qualcomm has announced Snapdragon Sound, a new technology that the chipmaker says is designed to deliver “seamless, immersive” and “studio master grade” audio quality, through a series of optimised audio technologies and software.

Qualcomm says that it began developing Snapdragon Sound after last year’s State of Play Report suggested that audio quality was a key deciding factor when purchasing a smartphone. Considering that it already has chipset performance down to tee, it makes sense that its next focus would be audio.

Breaking it down, Snapdragon Sound is a combination of several of Qualcomm’s audio technologies, including its aptX Adaptive audio technology, which provides 24-bit word depth and 96kHz sampling frequency, for what it calls “audiophile-quality music” wirelessly. That, in turn, is coupled with its Aqstic audio codec, which supports codec formats up to 384kHz 32-bit PCM, along with DSD with ultra-low THD+N. Oh, and a 7.3W smart speaker amplifier.

To be fair, Qualcomm’s goal of creating high-quality wireless audio isn’t new by any stretch of the imagination; Sony has been pushing its own LDAC technology for the longest time and is often paired together with its Hi-Res audio codec. Of course, unlike Qualcomm’s aptX codec, LDAC is usually reserved for Sony’s own products, including their headphones and Xperia lineup.

At the time of writing, Qualcomm did not say when Snapdragon Sound will be available.