Qualcomm QCC3026 to Create both an Economical and Robust User Experience

Qualcomm Makes Truly Wireless Experiences Simpler to Design for a Broader Range of Earbuds and Hearables

Press release June 30, 2018

Qualcomm Incorporated today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd., introduced the QCC3026, a flash-programmable Bluetooth Audio System-on-Chip (SoC) that is designed to reduce power consumption by up to 50% compared to previous generation entry-level flash devices. The new SoC is also engineered to balance functionality and cost to help manufacturers simply and quickly develop and commercialize feature optimized truly wireless headsets, and extends the Company’s portfolio of low power Bluetooth audio solutions following the announcement of the flagship QCC5100 Bluetooth SoC series earlier this year.

“Consumers are eager for earbuds they can use all day, when they are at home, in the office or out and about without constantly needing to recharge. This latest addition to our portfolio is a very robust and cost-effective true wireless solution that is optimized for both superior sound quality and pricing value, and will allow our customers to put this exciting technology in the reach of millions of more buyers,” said Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, voice & music, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. “We were early leaders in the development of true wireless technology and we continue to drive exciting innovation across our audio portfolio that meets the needs of this rapidly evolving and growing segment. Putting so much technology into such a small form factor is a big technology challenge and with this differentiated new offering we are helping even non-traditional Bluetooth wireless headphone customers, like mobile phone manufacturers, to rapidly add valued accessories to their product line ups.”

The QCC3026 is particularly well-suited for phone manufacturers, who, with the removal of the standard headphone jack from their designs, left consumers desiring a non-wired solution to listen to their music. With this new design, phone OEMs can provide quality sounding earbuds at a cost point that allows them to package them in the box with, or alongside, their latest smartphones providing an overall more compelling offer to consumers.

OPPO, a fast-growing global mobile phone manufacturer, today announced their first wireless stereo earbuds based on the Qualcomm QCC3026 SoC with Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo, and further announced that they will be included in the box with some of its flagship Find X phones which are also built on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 mobile platform.

“Using the latest innovations from Qualcomm Technologies, OPPO is able to provide consumers worldwide with fashionable, high-quality devices at affordable prices,” said Listen Li, Director of Product, China Market, OPPO. “The new Qualcomm QCC3026 allows us to provide an exciting and great sounding totally wireless headset which we believe that on its own, or packaged together with our latest Find X smartphone will provide a compelling offer and heightened experience for buyers seeking a new phone, especially those who really care about the quality of their music.”

      

QCC3026 Technology and Ecosystem Highlights:

At its lower price point, the QCC3026 is able to deliver a compelling performance and low power consumption with the use of enhanced Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo technology.

Benefits of the new SoC include:

• A truly wire-free listening experience
• Enhanced Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo protocols together with an improved radio are designed to deliver a robust overall wireless connectivity, from handset to earbud as well as between the earbuds themselves, important both when making calls and listening to music
• An easy pairing experience and balanced power distribution between earbuds for lower overall power consumption and longer usage time.
• Proven, consistent, high quality audio over Bluetooth with Qualcomm® aptX™ audio technology
• Readiness for digital assistant applications, with support for voice services available via button-press activation, relaying the audio stream and voice control capabilities to a handset to process and execute commands.
• Suppressed background noise and echo feedback with Qualcomm® cVc™ Noise Cancellation Technology for a quieter and more seamless user experience.
• Fully tested Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo application can be immediately deployed on the SoC with a wide range of features that can be readily configured or customized.

End of Press Release

This is great news, the addition of BT 5.0 is a nice upgrade and the fact this is meant for low to mid tear devices will definitely help in more and more lower priced devices featuring longer battery life and more portable smaller design.  The 50% decrease in power is a lot and I am looking forward to Sony releasing some new wireless affordable buds at IFA 2018.  While the QCC5100 which was announced earlier this year will probably go into a possible WF-1000X successor or WI-1000X, the less expensive QCC3026 could trickle down into the sub 100 Euro/dollar range I feel.

Oppo has already announced a set of wireless buds using the new SoC, the O-Free (below) and they do seem quite nice.  Pricing is 699 Yuan or around 89 Euros or $100 USD.  Battery is slated at 4 hours with the case able to recharge for use up to 12 hours more.