Qualcomm announced last week it will have a product launch today, March 19. The chip maker has announced the Qualcomm QCS400 SoC series – a new series of chipsets for smart audio devices.
The QCS400 brings immersive audio combined with on-device artificial intelligence for an improved audio experience around your home. Qualcomm says the new SoC will bring “better audio quality, optimal battery life, and next-gen voice control compared to” previous technology. Below are the three most important features of the new audio chipsets:
- Improvements in voice UI with faster response times for voice commands, better sound pickup even in noisy environments and local voice control.
- Smarter and more immersive sound quality – support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for a cinema-like experience.
- Multi-channel connectivity which allows users to connect several speakers together with ample control over playback. This is combined with better performance and improved battery life.
The QCS400 series have a dedicated DSP that offers up to 32 channels of audio post-processing. The SoCs are also designed to support multi-keyword detection and with on-device AI, smart devices powered by them can get better and respond faster to wake-words.
The QCS400 series includes the QCS403 and QCS404 which are designed for smart Assistant and Smart speakers. The former is a dual-core SoC while the latter is a quad-core SoC. Both are clocked at 1.4GHz, support Bluetooth 5.1, and the Zigbee protocol.
There is also the QCS405 for soundbars, home theaters, and smart speakers and the QCS407 which is for AVRs (audio/video receivers). Both of them have quad-core CPUs. They also have quad-core AIE CPUs, an Adreno 306 GPU, and 2x Qualcomm Hexagon DSPs which the QCS403 and QCS404 do not have. The QCS407 is the only one of all four that supports up to 32 audio channels, the rest max out at 12.
(Source)
