What you need to know
- Qualcomm announces the S3 Gen 2 platform with enhanced audiophile-quality music streaming capabilities.
- It is backed with Snapdragon Sound and LE Audio to improve the gaming experience.
- It is also designed for dongles and adapters and will enable Auracast Broadcast capabilities.
The Qualcomm S3 Gen 2 sound platform launched this week aimed primarily at dongles and adapters alongside earbuds and headsets with support for Snapdragon Sound tech.
The chipset maker says that the new generation sound platform is also purely optimized for gaming, meaning users can expect a combination of Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sound aided by LE Audio for ultra-low latency of less than 20 milliseconds. This can be further reduced for enhanced gameplay, and gamers can expect no audio interruptions, even if they are away from consoles or PC for a moment, keeping them in the action or their voice chat.
"For gaming, this solution is optimized for adapters used in audio sources," Qualcomm says in the announcement blog post, adding that users will experience the best of it when using wireless earbuds and headsets based on the latest S3 Gen 2 or Qualcomm S5.
"This new platform has been optimized to deliver an ultra-low latency experience for gaming over Bluetooth with Snapdragon Sound, but it also means the same devices can be used for calls and ultra-premium music listening," says Mike Canevaro, head of Snapdragon Sound.
He also points out the benefits of Auracast Broadcast, allowing users to share audio with others via personal devices or streaming audio from public Auracast-enabled systems. LE Audio Auracast aims to transform your existing TVs, phones, laptops, PCs, and consoles into premium broadcast platforms.
The new audio SoC from Qualcomm supports 24-bit 96kHz high resolution for music listening. It is further backed by the company's popular aptX Adaptive audio tech and is based on Bluetooth 5.4, promising to bring clearer voice calls, Dynamic Spatial Audio, and more. It's also supported by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the current flagship chipset found in the latest flagship Android phones.
