Ceva and Actions Technology have introduced the ATS296X series of Bluetooth audio chips, based on the Ceva-Waves Bluetooth High Data Throughput (HDT) platform. According to the companies, the devices are among the first commercial implementations of Bluetooth HDT technology, supporting the development of next-generation wireless audio products.
Bluetooth HDT, a feature of the upcoming Bluetooth 7.0 specification, increases peak data rates from 2Mbps to around 7.5Mbps. According to Ceva, the technology supports applications including lossless multi-channel audio, lower-latency audio, faster file transfers and accelerated over-the-air software updates, while enabling wireless multichannel speaker systems beyond traditional stereo.
For automotive interiors, Bluetooth HDT could enable higher-quality in-car audio, lower-latency wireless connectivity and faster over-the-air updates for next-generation infotainment systems.
The ATS296X series builds on the long-standing collaboration between Actions Technology and Ceva, with the new SoC integrating Ceva’s Bluetooth HDT platform to support lossless audio streaming. According to the companies, the platform provides a migration path to Bluetooth HDT while reducing development complexity and accelerating the introduction of next-generation wireless audio products.
“Bluetooth HDT represents the next major evolution of wireless audio, enabling experiences that simply were not possible with previous Bluetooth generations,” said Tal Shalev, vice president and general manager of the Wireless IoT business unit at Ceva. “Our long-standing collaboration with Actions Technology has consistently delivered innovative wireless audio solutions, and the ATS296X series demonstrates that the Bluetooth HDT ecosystem is rapidly moving from specification to commercial products.”
Jeffers Gong, general manager of portable audio business unit at Actions Technology, said, “Our collaboration with Ceva has enabled us to bring advanced wireless technologies to market quickly and with confidence. Integrating Ceva’s Bluetooth HDT platform into the ATS296X-series allows us to offer customers an early path to Bluetooth HDT and a new generation of premium wireless audio experiences. Meanwhile our proprietary dual-RF design featured on the ATS296X-series delivers highly competitive solutions to fit diverse customer use cases and addresses multi-scenario concurrent operation requirements.”
The Ceva-Waves Bluetooth platform includes a Bluetooth controller, modem, RF and software protocol stack IP. Ahead of the ratification of the Bluetooth 7.0 specification, Ceva has participated in industry interoperability events to validate its High Data Throughput implementation with other chipset providers. The ATS296X series is currently undergoing interoperability testing.
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