Qualcomm tinkered Bluetooth 5.0 to allow music streaming to two devices simultaneously

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 845 chipset can do a lot of things that weren't possible until now or required extra accessories. For example, if you want to pair two speakers to an Android device to stream music at the same time, you'll need an accessory like a hub.

Well, it looks like Qualcomm has found a way to tweak Bluetooth 5.0 support on its Snapdragon 845 chip so that users can stream music to two devices (smartphones, speakers) at the same time without an extra accessory in-between.

According to Peter Carson, Qualcomm's director of product marketing, the adjustments to Bluetooth 5.0 are made using a proprietary technology (hardware and software).

Basically, owning a device equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip will allow you to send single music streams to each speaker, smartphone, and pair of headphones. Moreover, besides HD quality music streaming, the technology supports live audio as well.

The standard Bluetooth technology sends the stereo audio signal from a phone to one of the earbuds. Then, the earbud transmits the audio signal to the other earbud. However, thanks to the new technology, a Snapdragon 845-powered smartphone will send stereo audio signals to both earbuds at the same time.

Another advantage of the new technology is that it offers up to 50% lower power consumption in comparison with the current standard.

Qualcomm says the technology will need specific support from apps and devices, which is why it will provide APIs to anyone interested to adopt its technology.