According to an announcement made by Qualcomm this morning, the Snapdragon 845 platform (you know, the processor that will be inside all of this year’s flagship devices?), now supports Qualcomm Broadcast Audio.
Like me when I first heard of this, you may be asking what Broadcast Audio is. Well, to put it as simply as possible, it allows users to wirelessly stream music from their Snapdragon 845-powered device to multiple headsets and speakers. For example, let’s say you and a friend are taking a plane ride. With this tech, you can stream tunes to both you and your friend’s wireless headsets, no dongles or 2-port adapters needed. So long as the headset or desired speaker is in Bluetooth range, you should have no issues connecting.
Furthermore, Qualcomm states this tech features “near perfect synchronization,” meaning regardless of which audio sources are connected, the audio playing should be synced well enough that you don’t hear any odd timing.
Broadcast Audio Features
- Simpler set-up and pairing of devices and device management helping users to more easily manage which devices can join
- Broadcast to numerous devices within Bluetooth range
- Built-in robustness, automatic retransmission and packet-loss concealment
- Encrypted audio stream designed to help reduce the risk of eavesdropping
As Qualcomm puts it, “Imagine the laughter of a group of teenagers sharing a new song amongst their individual headphones, a ‘silent disco’ with hundreds listening to a DJ that only they can hear, a guided tour with simultaneous translation or college dorm party where numerous speakers can participate to support an impromptu party, these are just some of the exciting possibilities our customers can support with broadcast audio.”
Qualcomm notes that Broadcast Audio will be demoed at this year’s MWC, so expect to see more about this in the coming days.
// Qualcomm