One of the biggest topics in the audio world right now is the race to provide true lossless audio in wireless headphones. As an audiophile, the development of wireless audio is something I follow closely as I strive for the best sound quality without compromising on the wireless earbuds I recommend.

This conversation started a long time ago, but it really became part of the zeitgeist when Qualcomm announced the arrival of aptX Lossless in 2021. Now, the chipmaker may have helped music lovers around the world get one step closer to their high-resolution wireless audio goals by introducing micro-powered Wi-Fi support in its next-generation Snapdragon sound platform.

Announced at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii earlier this week, the chipmaker unveiled its new S7 and S7 Pro sound platforms for portable devices coming next year. Both Gen 1 platforms are said to offer six times more processing power and nearly 100 times more AI capability than the previous generation platforms. This will allow headphone manufacturers to offer active noise cancellation, improved battery life, and enhanced sound personalization capabilities using AI.

At first glance, these performance improvements sound very similar to the Adaptive Audio capabilities of Apple's AirPods Pro 2. However, the new platform also claims to unlock a new tier of premium audio performance to take wireless connectivity and sound quality of next-generation portable audio devices to the next level.

Interestingly, for high-quality audiophiles like myself, both next-generation Snapdragon sound platforms will support Bluetooth Lossless. However, devices using the S7 Pro Gen 1 platform will add micro-powered Wi-Fi support, increasing audio bandwidth and delivering true lossless audio of up to 192kHz/24-bit on networked devices. [This allows users to listen to music at ultra-low power consumption and hear every detail of the music in lossless audio quality. In addition, if a Wi-Fi network is not available, the platform switches to the highest quality Bluetooth available.

This is not the first year I have heard about true lossless audio over wireless; in April, I covered news of the first Wi-Fi headphones by a little-known Swiss audio company called Unity. Recently, I was fortunate enough to obtain a pair of these $2,199 (£1,765 / A$3,265) Wi-Fi headphones and was able to try them out at home. My first impressions were good, but stay tuned for my full review, which will be posted soon.

We also know that Apple's new AirPods Pro 2 USB-C version supports lossless audio and will be the first available in the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, due in 2024. Other than that, however, details on Apple's new lossless audio protocol (which has not been officially announced or given a name) are surprisingly thin. However, when it eventually materializes, it could be of greater interest to more iPhone users who want to stream lossless, high-resolution audio from Apple Music.

Bluetooth has revolutionized the way we listen with the best wireless headphones and the best wireless earbuds, freeing music fans from tying them to their playback devices with annoying cables. aptX HD, Adaptive, and sophisticated codecs aim to maximize audio data delivery by using compression for better audio signal processing within the limitations of Bluetooth's capabilities, but still fall short of delivering maximum data for true lossless, high-resolution sound quality.

Wi-Fi connected devices do not suffer from the same audio signal processing compromises. The audio data stream remains intact, allowing audiophiles to listen to their favorite music in CD-like sound quality or in high-resolution equivalent sound quality that surpasses CDs.

Wi-Fi connectivity is a logical step forward for wireless headphones, providing superior audio processing power for high-res audio fans.

One of the biggest challenges facing Wi-Fi headphones has been how to overcome high power consumption, but according to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon sound platform is suitable for wireless earbuds in low-power mode via Wi-Fi with ultra-low It will be able to deliver data rates of up to 29 Mbps at power consumption rates and lossless music streaming of up to 24-bit/192 kHz.

It remains to be seen how the anticipated new Snapdragon sound platform will appear. It should be noted that any playback device will need to support the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform and be paired with wireless headphones or earphones that support the new S7 Pro sound platform.

It remains to be seen who will win the lossless audio race, but Apple is beginning to look more and more like a latecomer. However, Apple is looking more and more like a laggard. Rest assured, look for the first device that supports true lossless audio wirelessly and listen to how it sounds.