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Qualcomm’s new ‘Elite’ sound chip might finally deliver the Wi-Fi earbud dream
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Qualcomm says the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 is the first sound chip to integrate micro-power Wi-Fi 6E. The design could bring dependable lossless streaming to wireless earbuds and audio glasses without requiring a separate Wi-Fi companion chip. By connecting directly to a home network, those wearables could bypass the phone’s Bluetooth link while accessing cloud audio, turning a long-promised idea into a more practical hardware proposition.
The idea is not new. In 2023, Qualcomm promoted its Snapdragon S7 Pro sound platform and Expanded Personal Area Network, or XPAN, as a way for compatible earbuds to do what Bluetooth alone could not. Qualcomm cited support for 24-bit, 96kHz lossless audio, a specification exceeding the practical capacity of conventional Bluetooth audio links. Elite Gen 2 revives that ambition as manufacturers have shown limited willingness to build around the earlier platform.
XPAN’s major drawback was its system-level complexity: the S7 Pro architecture required a separate Wi-Fi chip to add Wi-Fi earbud functionality. Qualcomm says Elite changes that equation by putting the wireless connection into the sound platform itself. The company also says the new component is 30 percent smaller, consumes up to 40 percent less power and delivers twice the AI processing capabilities of the previous generation. Those claims target the size, battery and processing constraints of small wearables.
Only one prominent implementation of Qualcomm’s earlier vision has emerged: Xiaomi’s Buds 5 Pro, unveiled in 2025 but not given a global release. That limited uptake suggests manufacturers may have found the additional hardware, power demands or engineering burden difficult to justify. By collapsing the Wi-Fi and sound-chip functions into one package, Elite Gen 2 could lower that barrier, although the earlier experience makes the new chip’s potential less certain than its specifications.
Technically, the central change is the move from a Bluetooth-centric audio path to direct Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. Earbuds or glasses can connect to a home network, leaving the phone out of the immediate audio route and opening access to cloud-hosted services without a Bluetooth relay. Qualcomm has not said that every earlier S7 Pro capability is guaranteed here; the clearest technical pitch is simpler wireless architecture, lower claimed power use and substantially more on-chip AI capacity for intelligent hearable features.
Qualcomm says it is working with HP on one unnamed product, is “working closely with Bose,” and is “pioneering a new category of intelligent hearables” with Cleer, a phrase that points toward camera-equipped earbuds. For established audio brands and device makers, Elite offers a way to differentiate small wearables through lossless delivery and AI-assisted features. For listeners and enthusiasts, however, the promise will count only if products are widely available, perform consistently and justify the added connectivity.
The next milestone is evidence, not another platform promise. Potential customers will want battery-life measurements, sound-quality tests, device-support details and launch dates from Qualcomm and its partners. Bose’s involvement may lend weight to the platform, while Cleer’s camera-equipped concept could push competition beyond conventional earbuds. If Elite Gen 2 delivers its promised integration, it could make phone-independent lossless audio a mainstream feature; if it does not, Qualcomm’s 2023 vision will have endured another generation of difficult adoption.
