Qualcomm Liu Junyong: a new generation of Bluetooth audio SoC solves the pain points of true wireless headphones
In 2018, Qualcomm introduced the QCC512x and QCC302x Bluetooth audio SoCs, leading the “wireless revolution” of headphones. Two years later, Qualcomm launched the new ultra-low-power Bluetooth audio SoCs-QCC514x series (top) and Qualcomm® QCC304x series (entry-level and Mid-end) SoC, focusing on improving the next-generation true wireless headset experience.
It is understood that QCC514x series and QCC304x series are optimized for true wireless earbuds and ear-worn devices, which can provide more robust connections, longer battery life, higher comfort, and also integrate dedicated hardware to support hybrid active drop Noise (Hybrid ANC), voice assistant and top wireless sound and voice quality.
"With the drive of true wireless technology, the user experience of the next generation of true wireless headsets will become better and better, and true wireless headsets will continue to maintain a high-speed development trend." Liu Junyong, director of product marketing at Qualcomm, told Jiwei.com.
Enhance the experience of next-generation true wireless headphones
In Qualcomm's view, the two major platforms, QCC514x and QCC304x, have laid the foundation for the next generation of true wireless devices, hoping to truly promote the transformation of true wireless products through the new platform.
The driving force for such change comes from the potential and broad market demand.
In a survey report on the use of audio products released by Qualcomm in 2019, a survey was conducted among 6,000 respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, India, and Germany, of which 66% It is believed that the quality of wireless audio has reached or even surpassed that of wired devices, which reflects the wide acceptance of wireless products by consumers from one aspect. At the same time, for future products, they also look forward to getting richer features. Among them, 30% of the respondents hope that the future headphones can support sports tracking, 50% of the respondents hope to support enhanced hearing, and 53% of the respondents Those who want to support voice assistants, up to 63% of users hope that future products can support active noise reduction (ANC).
"The results of this survey show that with the development of technology, users' expectations for products are getting higher and higher, which will directly drive the rapid development of the future market and also the decisive factor for users to decide whether to buy a certain product." Liu Junyong said.
Therefore, it includes voice UI, active noise reduction, ultra-low power consumption, suitable for all-day wear, seamless role switching, and provides top-level audio, multi-core processing capabilities, low latency, and robust connectivity, especially optimized for small product forms All kinds of features have become the ability of the new platform.
Specifically, the two new audio platforms launched by Qualcomm mainly include TrueWireless Mirroring technology, which solves the problem of link and switching speed of wireless headphones; ultra-small WLCSP package and excellent power consumption performance, improving wearing comfort and battery life; integration Active noise reduction function to enhance listening experience and security; the entire system integrates voice assistants to enhance the interactive experience and so on.
"Qualcomm has a complete portfolio of Bluetooth audio products, including the top-end Bluetooth programmable platform QCC512x series for the high-end market and the entry-level programmable platform QCC302x series for the low-end and mid-end. Our latest QCC514x and QCC304x series of products, mainly It is a new SoC optimized for the next generation of wireless earbuds. On the new generation of platforms, we have further improved the performance of RF, including higher receiving sensitivity, greater transmit power, and more robust RF connection. At the same time, on the basis of the previous generation of ultra-low-power platforms, further optimization has been made for more complex use scenarios and power consumption. "Liu Junyong said.
TrueWireless Mirroring addresses cross-platform pain points
According to Liu Junyong, true wireless earbuds have two left and right earbuds, so it also brings a variety of combinations. For example, when two earbuds are used together, it is a stereo use scenario. In actual use, such as when making a call or listening to music, the user may remove one of the earbuds at any time and use the left or right earbuds alone. After that, the user may reassemble the two earbuds and use them as stereo earbuds. Therefore, the above usage scenarios pose a great challenge to true wireless products, and it is also one of the biggest pain points of current true wireless products. When the user combines the earbuds, there may be a case where the connection of the earbuds is slow and the audio may be interrupted.
And this time Qualcomm launched TrueWireless Mirroring technology, can solve such user pain points.
Liu Junyong said that TrueWireless Mirroring can support any combination of earbuds, and also supports dynamic and seamless switching. TrueWireless Mirroring technology allows one of the earbuds to establish a connection with the phone, and the other earbud is in a "mirror" connection. When the user removes the earbuds that are connected to the phone, the mirrored earbuds can quickly and seamlessly establish a connection with the phone without interrupting the audio. In addition, TrueWireless Mirroring also supports the management of a single Bluetooth address. Regardless of whether one earbud or two earbuds are used at the same time, the user can see the device with the same Bluetooth address. This can also better realize the absence of earbuds and voice assistants. Work.
In 2018, Qualcomm launched TrueWireless Plus technology on the previous generation audio platforms QCC512x and QCC302x, which is an end-to-end technology. When a smartphone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform that supports TWS +, when used with a QCC512x or QCC302x headset, it can work in an end-to-end TWS + connection mode to provide users with a better experience, including lower power consumption. , Lower latency, and more reliable connections.
The latest TrueWireless Mirroring technology does not depend on the mobile phone platform, which means that some mobile phones on the market that are not equipped with Snapdragon mobile platforms can also be paired with TrueWireless Mirroring technology to achieve a good user experience. This means that TrueWireless Mirroring technology has become a wider connection technology applicable to various mobile phones on the market.
For the same wireless headset connected to different mobile phones, the experience is different. Liu Junyong said that this is because different headsets may support multiple codecs (CODEC), including SBC, AAC, aptX, etc. Some headsets only support SBC, but not AAC; or some headsets can support multiple audio Codec. This depends on the ability of the audio codec on the phone side when the user connects the headset to different phones. If the same headset is connected to different mobile phones, the user experience may be different due to the different audio codecs supported by the working mobile phone.
"Specifically, if the phone side supports aptX and the headphone side also supports aptX, then this is working in aptX mode, and the user experience is an experience close to CD or higher than CD sound quality. If the SBC codec is connected, You can only get the user experience at the SBC level; if you connect an AAC codec, you will get the AAC user experience accordingly, which is one of the main reasons. "Liu Junyong said.
Improved active noise reduction performance
It is understood that the new generation products QCC514x and QCC304x both support active noise reduction. In a small WLCSP package, Qualcomm integrates an active noise reduction module, which is an independent DSP module. When the user turns on the active noise reduction function, the additional power consumption will be very small, that is, while supporting active noise reduction, ultra-low power consumption can still be achieved.
According to Liu Junyong, active noise reduction supports two modes: one is a high-performance hybrid noise reduction mode, and the other is a transparent transmission mode.
The transparent transmission mode means that after the user turns on the mode, the surrounding environment sounds can also be heard when listening to music. This is to allow the user to obtain higher security in the use scenario. For example, when listening to music while walking, users still want to hear the sound of surrounding cars, which can improve the safety when walking.
Previously, the QCC512x platform provided by Qualcomm has been able to support the active noise reduction function, and customers on the market have released headset products that support this function. The newly launched QCC514x platform has further improved performance for active noise reduction. In addition, the design of semi-in-ear true wireless headphones poses new challenges to the technology, such as whether active noise reduction can well fit the semi-in-ear design of many future products. Therefore, on the QCC514x series, Qualcomm has improved the performance of the active noise reduction function to support adaptive active noise reduction.
Liu Junyong said that Qualcomm has accumulated many years of noise reduction in call voice, including the 8th generation cVc noise reduction technology introduced in the previous generation of products. Qualcomm continues to upgrade its technology in the field of call voice noise reduction, hoping to provide customers with better noise reduction performance, including further improvements in new products. In addition, because the QCC514x platform uses a completely open architecture, many third-party partners can also integrate advanced technologies on the Qualcomm platform to provide customers with more choices.
The QCC514x and QCC304x SoCs are optimized to support industry-leading low power in different use cases.
"For example, in the standby state, the user may turn on active noise reduction, or turn on the always-on voice. In such a scenario, the QCC514x has a battery life that is 86% longer than the competition. In the call state, the user turns on the hands-free function cVc call noise reduction, and active noise reduction is turned on, QCC514x's battery life is 26% longer than that of competing products. If you use active noise reduction when listening to music, users can turn on always-on voice. 22%. These are power consumption optimizations for actual usage scenarios. When using true wireless products, users do not just use a single function, so combining so many complex functions can also provide users with super Low power consumption and support for all-weather use is a big challenge, and this is also a problem we focus on solving in the new generation platform. "Liu Junyong said.
Liu Junyong emphasized that the improvement of sound quality involves the optimization of the system. From the perspective of the hardware of the SoC platform, different solutions provided by various manufacturers are composed of processors and audio codecs on the system architecture, but in fact, the hardware optimization level of the entire system platform is different, which is also compared with Qualcomm. The advantage of other manufacturers in the market.
"Including higher-quality codecs such as aptX, system power design, and DSP processing capabilities. From the previous generation platform to the newly launched platform, Qualcomm has been insisting on the optimization of the sound quality of the entire system for many years. The sound quality is a user purchase The first factor considered by the headset, and when we consider a platform, we are more concerned about the characteristics and capabilities of the entire system, rather than just a single aspect. "Liu Junyong said.
aptX Adaptive provides high quality robust links
In 2018, Qualcomm launched QualcommaptXAdaptive, a next-generation audio codec that supports dynamic adjustments. It combines stability, top-level sound quality, scalability, and low latency. And applications with high audio requirements bring an excellent wireless listening experience.
Both QCC514x and QCC304x support Qualcomm aptX Adaptive audio technology. Based on aptX Adaptive, it can always maintain a robust connection under different usage scenarios. This technology can adaptively adjust the transmission code rate according to the environment of the customer and the radio frequency interference condition, ensuring that users can enjoy a stable connection at any time. Under the premise of stable connection, Qualcomm also hopes to provide customers with CD-level or higher quality sound quality.
In addition, when playing games and watching videos, users may put forward other higher requirements, such as low-latency features. Based on aptX Adaptive technology, when a user plays a game, the audio device can adaptively switch to a low-latency mode; during a call, it adaptively switches to a high-resolution voice call mode. From the perspective of comprehensive user experience, aptX Adaptive technology solves some contradictions existing in actual use. High-quality music, robust connectivity, low latency, and high-quality voice are all features that users want to get simultaneously. How to enable users to switch freely in different application scenarios to obtain an excellent experience is actually a problem that this technology hopes to solve.
According to Liu Junyong, many mobile phones in the market have started to support aptX Adaptive technology, including Xiaomi, Asus, Sharp, Sony, ZTE and so on. Liu Junyong believes that on the earphone side, aptX Adaptive can be combined with the mobile phone side to provide a more robust connection, higher sound quality and adaptive use scenarios, which is a future trend.
Liu Junyong said that the current problems encountered by users in using true wireless products cannot be solved by static codecs. The first thing that can be conceived is that there is a certain contradiction between high bit rate and anti-interference. The realization of high sound quality requires a high bit rate, but a high bit rate also means that the anti-interference is degraded and fails to meet the high quality requirements. Qualcomm has been vigorously promoting the adoption of aptX Adaptive technology from the mobile phone side to the earphone side. We hope that with the newly launched product series, we can help customers design the next generation of truly market-competitive products through TrueWireless Mirroring combined with aptX Adaptive technology.
All QCC integrated voice assistants
According to Liu Junyong, QCC5141 for top-level products specifically provides wake-up word activation that is always online for multiple voice ecosystems. The QCC304x series for entry-level and mid-range products can provide push-button voice activation for multiple voice ecosystems, helping OEMs to implement voice assistant functions faster and cheaper. The voice assistant function will also be integrated on the full range of QCC products.
"In the previous user survey, we also saw that the voice assistant is also a function that users expect to experience in future products. Currently including Google, Amazon, Baidu, Ali, and major mobile phone manufacturers, they are actively deploying voice assistants. Market. Our QCC series platforms can meet the diverse needs of supporting different customers through the leading technology of always-on voice online. "Liu Junyong said.
It is also understood that by adding this feature to entry-level and mid-range SoC products, Qualcomm is supporting OEMs for the first time with a single-chip solution to provide voice assistant functions for lower-priced market segments, allowing voice assistants to
It is understood that QCC514x series and QCC304x series are optimized for true wireless earbuds and ear-worn devices, which can provide more robust connections, longer battery life, higher comfort, and also integrate dedicated hardware to support hybrid active drop Noise (Hybrid ANC), voice assistant and top wireless sound and voice quality.
"With the drive of true wireless technology, the user experience of the next generation of true wireless headsets will become better and better, and true wireless headsets will continue to maintain a high-speed development trend." Liu Junyong, director of product marketing at Qualcomm, told Jiwei.com.
Enhance the experience of next-generation true wireless headphones
In Qualcomm's view, the two major platforms, QCC514x and QCC304x, have laid the foundation for the next generation of true wireless devices, hoping to truly promote the transformation of true wireless products through the new platform.
The driving force for such change comes from the potential and broad market demand.
In a survey report on the use of audio products released by Qualcomm in 2019, a survey was conducted among 6,000 respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, India, and Germany, of which 66% It is believed that the quality of wireless audio has reached or even surpassed that of wired devices, which reflects the wide acceptance of wireless products by consumers from one aspect. At the same time, for future products, they also look forward to getting richer features. Among them, 30% of the respondents hope that the future headphones can support sports tracking, 50% of the respondents hope to support enhanced hearing, and 53% of the respondents Those who want to support voice assistants, up to 63% of users hope that future products can support active noise reduction (ANC).
"The results of this survey show that with the development of technology, users' expectations for products are getting higher and higher, which will directly drive the rapid development of the future market and also the decisive factor for users to decide whether to buy a certain product." Liu Junyong said.
Therefore, it includes voice UI, active noise reduction, ultra-low power consumption, suitable for all-day wear, seamless role switching, and provides top-level audio, multi-core processing capabilities, low latency, and robust connectivity, especially optimized for small product forms All kinds of features have become the ability of the new platform.
Specifically, the two new audio platforms launched by Qualcomm mainly include TrueWireless Mirroring technology, which solves the problem of link and switching speed of wireless headphones; ultra-small WLCSP package and excellent power consumption performance, improving wearing comfort and battery life; integration Active noise reduction function to enhance listening experience and security; the entire system integrates voice assistants to enhance the interactive experience and so on.
"Qualcomm has a complete portfolio of Bluetooth audio products, including the top-end Bluetooth programmable platform QCC512x series for the high-end market and the entry-level programmable platform QCC302x series for the low-end and mid-end. Our latest QCC514x and QCC304x series of products, mainly It is a new SoC optimized for the next generation of wireless earbuds. On the new generation of platforms, we have further improved the performance of RF, including higher receiving sensitivity, greater transmit power, and more robust RF connection. At the same time, on the basis of the previous generation of ultra-low-power platforms, further optimization has been made for more complex use scenarios and power consumption. "Liu Junyong said.
TrueWireless Mirroring addresses cross-platform pain points
According to Liu Junyong, true wireless earbuds have two left and right earbuds, so it also brings a variety of combinations. For example, when two earbuds are used together, it is a stereo use scenario. In actual use, such as when making a call or listening to music, the user may remove one of the earbuds at any time and use the left or right earbuds alone. After that, the user may reassemble the two earbuds and use them as stereo earbuds. Therefore, the above usage scenarios pose a great challenge to true wireless products, and it is also one of the biggest pain points of current true wireless products. When the user combines the earbuds, there may be a case where the connection of the earbuds is slow and the audio may be interrupted.
And this time Qualcomm launched TrueWireless Mirroring technology, can solve such user pain points.
Liu Junyong said that TrueWireless Mirroring can support any combination of earbuds, and also supports dynamic and seamless switching. TrueWireless Mirroring technology allows one of the earbuds to establish a connection with the phone, and the other earbud is in a "mirror" connection. When the user removes the earbuds that are connected to the phone, the mirrored earbuds can quickly and seamlessly establish a connection with the phone without interrupting the audio. In addition, TrueWireless Mirroring also supports the management of a single Bluetooth address. Regardless of whether one earbud or two earbuds are used at the same time, the user can see the device with the same Bluetooth address. This can also better realize the absence of earbuds and voice assistants. Work.
In 2018, Qualcomm launched TrueWireless Plus technology on the previous generation audio platforms QCC512x and QCC302x, which is an end-to-end technology. When a smartphone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform that supports TWS +, when used with a QCC512x or QCC302x headset, it can work in an end-to-end TWS + connection mode to provide users with a better experience, including lower power consumption. , Lower latency, and more reliable connections.
The latest TrueWireless Mirroring technology does not depend on the mobile phone platform, which means that some mobile phones on the market that are not equipped with Snapdragon mobile platforms can also be paired with TrueWireless Mirroring technology to achieve a good user experience. This means that TrueWireless Mirroring technology has become a wider connection technology applicable to various mobile phones on the market.
For the same wireless headset connected to different mobile phones, the experience is different. Liu Junyong said that this is because different headsets may support multiple codecs (CODEC), including SBC, AAC, aptX, etc. Some headsets only support SBC, but not AAC; or some headsets can support multiple audio Codec. This depends on the ability of the audio codec on the phone side when the user connects the headset to different phones. If the same headset is connected to different mobile phones, the user experience may be different due to the different audio codecs supported by the working mobile phone.
"Specifically, if the phone side supports aptX and the headphone side also supports aptX, then this is working in aptX mode, and the user experience is an experience close to CD or higher than CD sound quality. If the SBC codec is connected, You can only get the user experience at the SBC level; if you connect an AAC codec, you will get the AAC user experience accordingly, which is one of the main reasons. "Liu Junyong said.
Improved active noise reduction performance
It is understood that the new generation products QCC514x and QCC304x both support active noise reduction. In a small WLCSP package, Qualcomm integrates an active noise reduction module, which is an independent DSP module. When the user turns on the active noise reduction function, the additional power consumption will be very small, that is, while supporting active noise reduction, ultra-low power consumption can still be achieved.
According to Liu Junyong, active noise reduction supports two modes: one is a high-performance hybrid noise reduction mode, and the other is a transparent transmission mode.
The transparent transmission mode means that after the user turns on the mode, the surrounding environment sounds can also be heard when listening to music. This is to allow the user to obtain higher security in the use scenario. For example, when listening to music while walking, users still want to hear the sound of surrounding cars, which can improve the safety when walking.
Previously, the QCC512x platform provided by Qualcomm has been able to support the active noise reduction function, and customers on the market have released headset products that support this function. The newly launched QCC514x platform has further improved performance for active noise reduction. In addition, the design of semi-in-ear true wireless headphones poses new challenges to the technology, such as whether active noise reduction can well fit the semi-in-ear design of many future products. Therefore, on the QCC514x series, Qualcomm has improved the performance of the active noise reduction function to support adaptive active noise reduction.
Liu Junyong said that Qualcomm has accumulated many years of noise reduction in call voice, including the 8th generation cVc noise reduction technology introduced in the previous generation of products. Qualcomm continues to upgrade its technology in the field of call voice noise reduction, hoping to provide customers with better noise reduction performance, including further improvements in new products. In addition, because the QCC514x platform uses a completely open architecture, many third-party partners can also integrate advanced technologies on the Qualcomm platform to provide customers with more choices.
The QCC514x and QCC304x SoCs are optimized to support industry-leading low power in different use cases.
"For example, in the standby state, the user may turn on active noise reduction, or turn on the always-on voice. In such a scenario, the QCC514x has a battery life that is 86% longer than the competition. In the call state, the user turns on the hands-free function cVc call noise reduction, and active noise reduction is turned on, QCC514x's battery life is 26% longer than that of competing products. If you use active noise reduction when listening to music, users can turn on always-on voice. 22%. These are power consumption optimizations for actual usage scenarios. When using true wireless products, users do not just use a single function, so combining so many complex functions can also provide users with super Low power consumption and support for all-weather use is a big challenge, and this is also a problem we focus on solving in the new generation platform. "Liu Junyong said.
Liu Junyong emphasized that the improvement of sound quality involves the optimization of the system. From the perspective of the hardware of the SoC platform, different solutions provided by various manufacturers are composed of processors and audio codecs on the system architecture, but in fact, the hardware optimization level of the entire system platform is different, which is also compared with Qualcomm. The advantage of other manufacturers in the market.
"Including higher-quality codecs such as aptX, system power design, and DSP processing capabilities. From the previous generation platform to the newly launched platform, Qualcomm has been insisting on the optimization of the sound quality of the entire system for many years. The sound quality is a user purchase The first factor considered by the headset, and when we consider a platform, we are more concerned about the characteristics and capabilities of the entire system, rather than just a single aspect. "Liu Junyong said.
aptX Adaptive provides high quality robust links
In 2018, Qualcomm launched QualcommaptXAdaptive, a next-generation audio codec that supports dynamic adjustments. It combines stability, top-level sound quality, scalability, and low latency. And applications with high audio requirements bring an excellent wireless listening experience.
Both QCC514x and QCC304x support Qualcomm aptX Adaptive audio technology. Based on aptX Adaptive, it can always maintain a robust connection under different usage scenarios. This technology can adaptively adjust the transmission code rate according to the environment of the customer and the radio frequency interference condition, ensuring that users can enjoy a stable connection at any time. Under the premise of stable connection, Qualcomm also hopes to provide customers with CD-level or higher quality sound quality.
In addition, when playing games and watching videos, users may put forward other higher requirements, such as low-latency features. Based on aptX Adaptive technology, when a user plays a game, the audio device can adaptively switch to a low-latency mode; during a call, it adaptively switches to a high-resolution voice call mode. From the perspective of comprehensive user experience, aptX Adaptive technology solves some contradictions existing in actual use. High-quality music, robust connectivity, low latency, and high-quality voice are all features that users want to get simultaneously. How to enable users to switch freely in different application scenarios to obtain an excellent experience is actually a problem that this technology hopes to solve.
According to Liu Junyong, many mobile phones in the market have started to support aptX Adaptive technology, including Xiaomi, Asus, Sharp, Sony, ZTE and so on. Liu Junyong believes that on the earphone side, aptX Adaptive can be combined with the mobile phone side to provide a more robust connection, higher sound quality and adaptive use scenarios, which is a future trend.
Liu Junyong said that the current problems encountered by users in using true wireless products cannot be solved by static codecs. The first thing that can be conceived is that there is a certain contradiction between high bit rate and anti-interference. The realization of high sound quality requires a high bit rate, but a high bit rate also means that the anti-interference is degraded and fails to meet the high quality requirements. Qualcomm has been vigorously promoting the adoption of aptX Adaptive technology from the mobile phone side to the earphone side. We hope that with the newly launched product series, we can help customers design the next generation of truly market-competitive products through TrueWireless Mirroring combined with aptX Adaptive technology.
All QCC integrated voice assistants
According to Liu Junyong, QCC5141 for top-level products specifically provides wake-up word activation that is always online for multiple voice ecosystems. The QCC304x series for entry-level and mid-range products can provide push-button voice activation for multiple voice ecosystems, helping OEMs to implement voice assistant functions faster and cheaper. The voice assistant function will also be integrated on the full range of QCC products.
"In the previous user survey, we also saw that the voice assistant is also a function that users expect to experience in future products. Currently including Google, Amazon, Baidu, Ali, and major mobile phone manufacturers, they are actively deploying voice assistants. Market. Our QCC series platforms can meet the diverse needs of supporting different customers through the leading technology of always-on voice online. "Liu Junyong said.
It is also understood that by adding this feature to entry-level and mid-range SoC products, Qualcomm is supporting OEMs for the first time with a single-chip solution to provide voice assistant functions for lower-priced market segments, allowing voice assistants to