Anker has introduced its new custom AI chip, called Thus. It’s designed specifically for smaller devices, bringing on-device AI to audio products, mobile accessories, and IoT gadgets. Unlike traditional chips, Thus uses a compute-in-memory design — the first of its kind for neural-net audio processing — which makes it smaller and more power-efficient.
Small devices like earbuds don’t have much space or battery, so they usually run very basic AI. However, with Thus, Anker claims these devices can handle much larger and more powerful AI models. Comparing Thus with conventional chips, Steven Yang, Anker CEO, explained that most AI chips separate storage and computation, which leads to constant data movement. “Every AI chip built until now stores the model on one side and does the computation on the other. To think, the device has to carry all those parameters across, many times per second, every single inference. Thus puts the computation where the model already lives. The model never has to move again.” The Thus chip is set to debut in the upcoming Soundcore flagship earbuds. With the new chip integrated, the earbuds are expected to improve call quality, better isolate the user’s voice in noisy environments, and reduce background noise more effectively—resulting in clearer voice calls overall. With support for larger neural networks, along with multiple microphones and bone conduction sensors, the earbuds are likely to deliver cleaner and more accurate audio even in challenging environments.
Anker appears to be positioning these earbuds against premium earbuds like Apple AirPods Pro 3 and Sony WF-1000XM6.
Anker is expected to reveal more details, including additional AI-powered features, at its Anker Day event on May 21.
Apple launched the AirPods Pro 3 last September with the H2 chip, which is also used in the AirPods Pro 2. Even though Apple has stuck with the same H2 chip, the company claims the AirPods Pro 3 bring noise cancellation up to twice as compared to the AirPods Pro 2. This is likely due to the better microphones and a refined acoustic design. There are also some new additions, like a built-in heart rate sensor that can track your workouts, along with features such as Live Translation (currently in beta) and a Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence. Battery life has also seen a bump, offering up to 8 hours of listening time with ANC turned on. Looking ahead, reports suggest Apple is already working on its next-gen H3 chip, which could bring lower latency and even support futuristic features like gesture controls through infrared sensors.
