Qualcomm introduces new chipsets and audio tech for wireless earbuds
Qualcomm has introduced a couple of new processors and audio technologies that will improve the connectivity, sound quality, and battery life in some of the upcoming truly wireless earbuds. Dubbed as QCC514x and QCC304x, the latest chipsets arrive as upgrades to the QCC5100 and QCC30XX that have been around for a couple of years now.
Both chipsets support Qualcomm's TrueWireless Mirroring technology
Qualcomm's chipsets will support a TrueWireless Mirroring technology that will first pair your phone with a single earbud and then "mirror" the connection to the other earbud in order to reduce the amount of synchronization needed for a connection. Moreover, if you remove the primary earbud, the chipset will automatically switch the connection over to the other earbud without any disruption.
They will also come with built-in "hybrid ANC" technology
The QCC514x and QCC304x chipsets will also come with "hybrid ANC", Qualcomm's noise cancellation technology which will use the built-mics on the earbuds and some software magic to remove ambient noise. The company has also integrated a "leak-through" feature which is basically the opposite of ANC. It will use the microphones on the earbuds to bring in ambient sounds or even amplify them.
The chips will offer better battery life even with ANC
Qualcomm also notes that the new Bluetooth chips are more power-efficient and they will offer an improved battery life even with the power-hungry noise-cancellation mode turned on. The company claims that users would get up to 13 hours of playtime, depending on the usage condition.
Qualcomm QCC514x will support always-on voice assistant activation
Both chips will also come with voice assistant integration. However, the more premium QCC514x will support an 'always-on voice assistant' feature which will allow you to summon the digital assistant simply by voice command. The QCC304x will miss out on this feature, but it will support manual activation wherein you will have to activate the voice assistant using physical controls on the earbuds.