Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the Snapdragon® Sound Elite Gen 2 Platform, which combines premium audio and voice technologies with on-device AI, security-focused cloud-connected intelligence, and integrated micro-power Wi-Fi 6E for audio wearables. The platform enables a new generation of intelligent, multimodal audio devices, including camera-equipped models.

Our research tells us that up to 70% of users want advanced AI capabilities in their wearable devices. With Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, we're heralding intelligent audio wearables that enable experiences such as real-time translation, contextual assistance, personalized hearing, and multimodal interactions that combine audio, vision, and AI.

The platform delivers up to 2x greater AI capability than its predecessor and enables multiple intelligent experiences to operate simultaneously. It also offers up to 40% lower power consumption and up to 30% smaller footprint, allowing OEMs to deliver faster, always-available Personal AI experiences on camera-equipped form factors that gather environmental context without capturing photos. Direct-to-cloud connectivity via micro-power Wi-Fi 6E enables Snapdragon Sound Apps & Agents, extending wearables beyond hardware by providing access to AI assistants, services, and content that can evolve over time.

Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2 combines premium audio technologies with AI-driven features designed to adapt to the listener, device, and environment:

• Qualcomm® aptX™ Lossless delivers rich, immersive audio for premium listening experiences.
• Qualcomm® XPAN extends connectivity beyond traditional Bluetooth range for seamless, uninterrupted audio across devices.
• AI-enhanced audio technologies, including 5th Generation Qualcomm® ANC and Qualcomm® cVc™ technology, along with advanced multi-microphone support, improve noise cancellation, speech capture, and voice clarity.
• Snapdragon® Audio Sense Solution introduces intelligent microphones with algorithms to deliver clearer voice capture and more responsive AI experiences.

The platform supports earbuds, headphones, open-ear and hybrid audio designs, camera-enabled earbuds, audio glasses, and future multimodal wearables. Reference designs will help OEMs rapidly prototype, validate, and commercialize next-generation Personal AI devices.

At Snapdragon Summit 2026, Cleer demonstrated a new class of intelligent audio wearables combining audio, vision, and AI based on a Snapdragon Sound Platform, showcasing how the technology extends beyond traditional audio wearables into the user's environment.