Qualcomm’s Latest S-Series Sound Platforms Promise Improved Audio
Qualcomm’s always busy the whole year round – and while a lot of the tech community’s spotlight is usually fixated on its Snapdragon line of mobile chipsets, the industry giant also pours a lot of time and money in other market segments, such as wearables, automotive, and even audio.
Speaking of the latter, the company recently unveiled its newest hardware with the Qualcomm S3 Gen 3 and Qualcomm S5 Gen 3 Sound platforms, which the company says has been designed to “deliver sound experiences never before possible at the S5 and S3 tiers.”
In particular, the S3 Gen 3 is designed for use in mid-tier devices, offering OEMs with a bit more of flexibility and customization achieved through compatibility with enhancements from partners and third-party manufacturers, courtesy of Qualcomm’s Voice and Music Extension Program. The S3 Gen 3 also features support for Snapdragon Sound and 24-bit 48kHz lossless music streaming.
Meanwhile, the Qualcomm S5 Gen 3 Sound Platform packs a new standard architecture based on the Qualcomm S7 Sound Platform, which Qualcomm says will allow developers to create with more ease.
As with a majority of new Qualcomm hardware, the S5 Gen 3 also comes with support for AI, and Qualcomm claims that the chip can provide 50 times more “AI power” than its predecessor. As such, features such as ANC and voice processing now come with a special boost thanks to AI.
With all that being said, folks can expect to see the Qualcomm S3 Gen 3 and Qualcomm S5 Gen 3 in action on partner devices later on this year.