Qualcomm unveils S5 Gen 3 Sound platform with ‘nearly 50x more AI power’

Qualcomm has been busy. But then again, when is it ever idle? Today (March 25), the company known for its wireless solutions, software and semiconductors introduced two next-generation Snapdragon Sound products to enhance the audio experience not only at the premium end of the market, but also for earbuds mid-range (and possibly even the best budget wireless earbuds), headphones and speakers – namely the S5 Gen 3 and S3 Gen 3 Sound platforms.

The big headlines? Let’s start with the more expensive S5 Gen 3, which promises “nearly 50x more AI power” (more on this later), a better digital-to-analog converter with improved signal-to-noise ratio, and a 40% lower noise floor (with 24-bit /48kHz better than CD quality sound using the more efficient Bluetooth LE Audio) and Qualcomm’s 4th generation adaptive active noise cancellation.