Virscient has released a licensed software plugin that enables audio device manufacturers to add Apple Find My functionality via their existing silicon.

In the audio technology industry, a solution has come along that answers a genuine customer request—the ability to find lost audio devices. Enter Virscient’s SoundTrack – an embedded software solution for audio manufacturers that enables integration with Apple’s Find My network.

Know someone who lost a valuable headset or earbud? Apple’s Find My network of a billion devices can find it. The crowd-sourced asset tracking system helps Apple users easily locate important items—iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads, AirPods—and now, audio devices from other manufacturers. Headphone and earbud brands that secure a first-mover or early-adopter position with the SoundTrack integration will have a ready-made market of Find My app users.

SoundTrack – what’s clever?  

For one, it is available for market-leading Qualcomm Bluetooth® audio systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) with no need for more componentry. SoundTrack integrates rapidly into new or existing products as a software add-on, seamlessly combining with Qualcomm’s Audio Development Kit (ADK) reference applications.

To shed light on what sets the SoundTrack solution apart for audio manufacturers, we spoke to Christian Wright, one of the clever minds behind this innovation. He explains that there is nothing overly special about the implementation. Instead, the resulting application is what makes it stand apart—a clean user design akin to the seamless functionality of an Apple device. Virscient’s design emphasis is on making SoundTrack integration a user-friendly standard aligned with the users’ expectations that audio technology should work seamlessly with their devices.

SoundTrack’s audience

Manufacturers in the audio industry— OEMs and ODMs of headsets, headphones, wireless earbuds, and portable speakers—bring this exciting feature to their audio products with minimum complexity and fastest time-to-market. Developed in collaboration with Qualcomm, Virscient’s SoundTrack is the ideal choice for manufacturers of high-quality portable and personal audio devices to give their customers peace of mind through lost device discovery and tracking as well as unwanted tracking prevention, he says.

The Qualcomm partnership is significant, Wright adds, because the collaboration creates market opportunities for manufacturers who already use Qualcomm silicon in their devices by providing a fast path to market with differentiation that really matters to customers. In fact, Virscient’s solution is the only Apple-certified Find My solution for personal and portable audio devices, and only audio manufacturers who use Qualcomm can make this real for their customers today.

The way that SoundTrack adds Apple Find My functionality to the device is notable. Rather than adding a separate component (higher BOM cost and production complexity), the SoundTrack solution is part of the embedded software system on the audio chip, like its Bluetooth® functionality. The manufacturer downloads an Apple Find My token, which along with unique data, such as the device serial number, enables each unit to be tracked by its eventual owner, he says.

Soundtrack by Virscient is more than a clever software solution; it is a business opportunity for high-quality headset and earbud brands. Virscient’s elegant solution is a testament to innovation with a purpose—customer-centric, efficient, and strategically positioned for success.

SoundTrack availability

SoundTrack is available to evaluate and license today directly from Virscient, with optional wrap-around services available in support of integration, product hardware and software development, and design and implementation of other value-add features.

If you’re a product marketing or category manager in the personal audio industry,  and want to know more, let’s talk!