Snapdragon S7 Pro Gen 1 and Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 were unveiled by Qualcomm on Tuesday at the company’s annual Snapdragon Summit, where the chipmaker also launched the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Snapdragon X Elite chips for smartphones and laptops. The new Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 series is the successor to the S5 Gen 2 chips from the company. The Pro model is equipped with support for Bluetooth 5.4 and micro-power Wi-Fi connectivity for vastly improved range on upcoming wireless earphones. It is also capable of streaming 192kHz lossless audio and spatial audio.
Expected to arrive on truly wireless stereo (TWS) headsets, wireless earphones, and connected speakers over the coming months, the new Snapdragon S7 Pro Gen 1 audio chip is equipped with support for micro-power Wi-Fi. Aside from Bluetooth 5.4 support, the micro-power Wi-Fi connectivity on wireless headsets along with Qualcomm’s XPAN technology is claimed to extend the coverage from a few metres to “across the home, building, or campus”.
Photo Credit: Qualcomm
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In addition to the improved range offered on the Snapdragon S7 Pro Gen 1, the more premium model also includes supports for multi-channel lossless audio streaming and multi-channel spatial audio. Both chips support Qualcomm’s hearing loss compensation technology and personal sound amplification features.
The new chips also feature a six-fold improvement in compute power, while AI capabilities have improved by “almost 100 times” due to the new Micro NPU AI engine, according to Qualcomm. The chip is also capable of switching ANC modes, based on machine learning and the wearer’s environment. The S7 Gen 1 series chips also feature support for the firm’s fourth-generation active noise cancellation (ANC) technology.
Qualcomm hasn’t announced details of availability of the new Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 and Snapdragon S7 Pro Gen 1, but products equipped with these are likely to be released in the coming months. The company says that the new wireless audio chips will unlock new sound experiences when paired with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC or the new Snapdragon X Elite laptop chipset, suggesting that some features may be limited based on hardware. Â
