Qualcomm today said its Snapdragon 845 processor can broadcast music to two devices, such as speakers, without requiring an in-between piece of hardware. According to Peter Carson, senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm, this feature relies on proprietary technology on both the software and the hardware side. Typically, music streamed to wireless speakers via Bluetooth is sent in a single signal to one speaker, which then rebroadcasts it to the second speaker. This is often managed through an application that consumers control on their phone. With Qualcomm's technology, a single phone can send the individual music streams directly to each speaker or bud, eliminating the in-between piece of hardware or need to re-broadcast the signal between them. The benefit is reduced power drain for the target Bluetooth speakers or buds. Qualcomm is streaming music through the aptX HD codec for high-quality playback. Qualcomm says companies will need to use the Snapdragon 845 mobile platform and its proprietary APIs to enable this feature in phones, headphones, and speakers.


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