Qualcomm has introduced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, a chip designed to make Wi-Fi earbuds and audio glasses more practical. Its integrated low-power Wi-Fi 6E could allow devices to connect directly to home networks and stream high-quality lossless audio without relying on a nearby phone, potentially reviving a technology that previously struggled to gain manufacturers’ support.

Qualcomm says the chip is 30% smaller, uses up to 40% less power and offers twice the AI processing capacity of its predecessor. Its earlier S7 Pro platform required a separate Wi-Fi chip and produced only one known product, Xiaomi’s Buds 5 Pro, which was not released globally; Qualcomm is now working with HP, Bose and Cleer on possible devices, including camera-equipped earbuds.