In 2023, Qualcomm introduced Expanded Personal Area Network (XPAN) technology, which allows wireless devices to switch from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi during data transmission when they reach maximum range. The first headphones supporting this technology were expected to appear in 2024, but this did not happen. Now it has become known that the first headphones with XPAN may hit the market this year.
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«We are excited to work with several of our customers to bring the first XPAN-enabled devices to market, and these will be announced very, very soon,” a Qualcomm spokesperson said when asked about the timing of the first commercial XPAN-enabled products to hit the market.
Let us remind you that XPAN technology allows wireless devices to use Wi-Fi to transmit data. This approach provides greater range compared to Bluetooth. Qualcomm also said that XPAN delivers 24-bit, 96 kHz lossless audio over Wi-Fi at the same power consumption as lossless Bluetooth audio of similar quality. In addition, using XPAN will provide high data transfer speeds with minimal delays, which can be important, for example, for gamers. XPAN-enabled headphones will be able to automatically switch from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi and back.
The exact timing of the appearance on the market of headphones supporting Qualcomm technology has not been announced. However, the manufacturer confirmed that work in this direction is underway and, apparently, the announcement of the first such devices is not far off.