New smart speakers at the forefront of the wireless audio revolution

The consumer market for wireless audio is amid rapid change and smart speakers are experiencing strong growth, fuelled by the adoption of voice assistants. Increasingly, advanced smart speakers have the potential to transform industries and dramatically enrich users’ lives. They’re easier to interact with and can deliver new vertical services, such as home education, while bringing richer audio quality for daily music streaming.

At Qualcomm Technologies, we’re working with leading audio and electronics brands around the world to enable the creation of unique products in this category. We’re delighted to spotlight two innovative new products that demonstrate the versatility and use cases that today’s smart speakers bring to consumers.

The CLOVA Clock+ — smarter experiences and services

NAVER, South Korea’s largest web search engine and a global ICT brand, launched the CLOVA Clock+, an exciting smart home speaker powered by the Qualcomm Smart Audio 400 Platform. It brings innovation and new user experiences to the digital clock form factor. Designed for audio lovers who are motivated by cool, upgraded features and technologies, the CLOVA Clock+ features:

• Smarter services – The CLOVA Clock+ is integrated with NAVER CLOVA (the AI platform widely used in Korea and Japan) to support voice assisted music recommendations, NAVER search, IoT control, and life information services such as weather and news.

• Smarter entertainment – The CLOVA Clock+ offers high-quality music streaming and richer, more immersive listening experiences from a small desk-side clock.

• Smarter homes – With support for NAVER CLOVA, the CLOVA Clock+ is designed for seamless voice activation and control for integrated smart home with IoT appliances.

Supported by the leading-edge Smart Audio Platform from Qualcomm Technologies, the CLOVA Clock+ is designed to appeal to consumers who are looking for easy-to-use voice services with powerful cloud connectivity, on-device intelligence, and superior sound quality at a reasonable price point.

The CLOVA Clock+ is available in South Korea through LG U+, a major telecommunications service provider focused on providing convenient services and differentiated products that can enhance end-user value and be enjoyed in easy, fun ways.

The Beosound A1 2nd Gen — smarter lifestyle and convenience

Many mainstream consumers seek products that bring quality, elegance, and ease to their lifestyle. Danish luxury audio brand Bang & Olufsen recently launched the new Beosound A1 2nd gen, based on our Qualcomm QCC5127 System on Chip (SoC). With a refined, lightweight, and compact design, this is the first B&O Bluetooth speaker to integrate the Alexa voice assistant and offers superb next-gen user experiences, including:

• Richer, more powerful sound quality – Sound quality is without a doubt the top criterion for all audio lovers. With omnidirectional sound, superior speakerphone performance, and three internal microphones, the Beosound A1 2nd gen brings new power and clarity to music listening, voice calls, and voice wake up.

• Ultimate wireless freedom – Extended battery life (up to 18 hours of playtime at typical listening volumes) and a sleek, streamlined design that’s both water and sand resistant mean the Beosound A1 2nd gen is ultra-portable. With it, consumers can take the rich listening experiences they enjoy with them, wherever they go, and seamlessly voice order takeout on the way home from the beach or place a call to friends without missing a beat.

• Smarts and convenience – The addition of Amazons’ Alexa voice services adds hands-free convenience and access to cloud-based services increasingly sought after by today’s consumers. Additionally, the A1 2nd gen integrates Bluetooth 5.1, Qualcomm aptX Adaptive audio, Microsoft Swift Pair, and Google Fast Pair for fast setup and enhanced clarity for business conference calls.

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 2nd gen is based on the  Qualcomm QCC5127, which is designed specifically to support compact yet feature-rich and voice-enabled audio products with superior sound quality.

Leading the next revolution in the wireless speaker category

Smarter access to convenient services, great sound, long battery life, a choice of style and design, and improved ease-of-use will continue to accelerate the adoption of new consumer audio devices. As the world’s leading wireless technology innovator, we’re excited to work with top audio, cloud, and electronics brands around the globe to help bring foundational technologies and exciting product experiences to consumer audio enthusiasts. Together with our customers, we’re driving the next revolution in wireless smart speakers, headsets, and earbuds.

Learn more about the Qualcomm Smart Audio 400 Platform, QCC5127 and Qualcomm aptX Adaptive.

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