Smart speaker innovation
Amarket leader in nextgeneration mobile technologies, Qualcomm, has announced two new components that are set to propel the smart speaker market forward.
These are the QCS400 system-ona-chip (SoCs) and the CSRA6640, which is an updated power amplifier.
This is big news for the industry as, until now, smart speakers have made do with traditional mobile chipsets.
Qualcomm claims this repurposing of non-specific smart speaker technology is responsible for the performance issues – responsive delays and misheard commands – that frustrate smart speaker users.
That is why Qualcomm has designed its first smart speaker QCS400 SoC – to directly combat these issues.
The QCS400 SoCs will deliver a more robust voice assistant experience. The key benefits of the technology will be faster responses and smarter voice UI, even in noisy environments.
The dedicated SoCs will also improve onboard connectivity, wifi and Bluetooth performance and deliver 25 times longer standby with voice wakeup and extended ‘‘unplugged’’ battery life.
Sound quality hasn’t been overlooked, either. The chip supports up to 32 channels of integrated audio processing, support for Dolby Atmos immersive audio and DTS:X, as well as compatibility with Qualcomm DDFA amplifier technology and aptX audio.
‘‘These new SoCs raise the bar on both feature integration and power performance for smart audio compared to our previous technology. This will help manufacturers to more easily overcome significant technical challenges and build smarter speakers and voice assistants with more intuitive voice UI, connected user experiences and exceptional sound quality’’ said Rahul Patel, senior vice-president and general manager, connectivity, Qualcomm Technologies.
Qualcomm’s second new component, the CSRA6640, is a little easier to get your head around. It’s a single-chip amplifier designed to deliver high-quality amplification on smaller and more affordable smart speakers.
You can expect to see Qualcomm’s new technology incorporated in future devices that support either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.