Qualcomm Technologies has announced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 Platform, expanding what's possible with audio wearables. The platform combines Qualcomm's premium Snapdragon Sound audio technologies with on-device AI, security-focused cloud-connected intelligence, and integrated micro-power Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, aiming to create a more intuitive, personalized experience that anticipates user needs and responds seamlessly, while still delivering the audio quality consumers expect from Snapdragon Sound. The company describes it as its first platform purpose-built to combine premium audio and voice technology with the on-device intelligence and connectivity needed for AI agent-powered experiences, enabling a new generation of intelligent, multimodal audio wearables, including devices equipped with cameras.
Ziad Asghar, senior vice president and general manager of XR, wearables, and personal AI at Qualcomm Technologies, said the company's research indicates up to 70% of users want advanced AI capabilities in their wearable devices. He said that as AI becomes a core capability, users will increasingly expect more natural ways to interact with it, often through spoken conversation rather than a screen, simply talking to an AI assistant and getting help in real time. He said Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 is meant to usher in intelligent audio wearables supporting experiences like real-time translation, contextual assistance, personalized hearing, and multimodal interactions that combine audio, vision, and AI.
Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 represents a significant step forward in on-device AI for audio wearables, delivering up to twice the AI capability of its predecessor and letting multiple intelligent features run simultaneously. Combined with up to 40% lower power consumption and up to 30% smaller physical footprint, the platform lets device makers build faster, always-available personal AI experiences, including camera-equipped designs meant to gather context about the user's surroundings rather than simply take photos.
Additionally, through direct-to-cloud connectivity enabled by micro-power Wi-Fi 6E, a feature called Snapdragon Sound Apps & Agents extends audio wearables beyond the hardware itself, giving users access to AI assistants, services, content, and experiences that can continue to evolve over time through software updates.
Sound That Understands and Adapts
The platform combines Qualcomm's premium Snapdragon Sound audio technologies with AI-driven features designed to continuously adapt to the listener, their device, and their surrounding environment. Qualcomm aptX Lossless is designed to deliver rich, immersive audio quality for premium listening. Qualcomm XPAN extends wireless connectivity beyond typical Bluetooth range, supporting more seamless, uninterrupted audio across multiple devices. AI-enhanced audio technologies, including a new 5th-generation version of Qualcomm's active noise cancellation (ANC), Qualcomm's cVc voice-clarity technology, and support for advanced multi-microphone setups, are designed to improve noise cancellation, speech capture, and voice clarity, supporting clearer conversations and more reliable interactions with AI assistants across a range of environments. The Snapdragon Audio Sense Solution introduces new microphone hardware paired with algorithms designed to deliver more intelligent audio, helping devices pick up voices and ambient sound more clearly to support richer voice capture, clearer communication, and more responsive AI interactions.
Enabling the Next Generation of Intelligent Audio Wearables
Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 supports a wide range of device form factors, including earbuds, headphones, open-ear and hybrid audio designs, camera-equipped earbuds, audio glasses, and future multimodal wearables. To help speed up innovation, Qualcomm is also offering Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 reference designs, intended to help device makers rapidly prototype, validate, and bring next-generation personal AI devices to market.
At Snapdragon Summit 2026, audio brand Cleer gave an early look at a new class of intelligent audio wearables combining audio, vision, and AI, built on a Snapdragon Sound platform. The concept demonstrated how Snapdragon Sound platforms can extend beyond traditional audio wearables into awareness of the world around the user, pointing toward a new generation of intelligent experiences.
