Pholonics report Intel engineers are already building SoundWire Linux driver support for the upcoming Lunar Lake CPU architecture. Specifically, this update includes initial support for SoundWire Intel ACE2.x, which will be part of Lunar Lake’s future audio capabilities. Intel is developing this new driver well ahead of schedule and Lunar Lake is expected to arrive in his 2024.
According to Phoronix, Linux 6.5 will support SoundWire’s new ACE2.x generation IP blocks, which is probably why Intel engineers are currently building new audio drivers. Not to mention the fact that Lunar Lake is just around the corner and he is expected to arrive as early as 2024. Not much is known about this new SoundWire revision, but as with all new audio technology, expect improvements in audio processing and audio. Quality compared to the current SoundWire revision.
SoundWire is an interface approved in 2015 for transferring audio data to integrated audio devices. Essentially, this is an “audio operating system” that controls how data is transferred to audio devices in speakers, phones, laptops, cars, and other supported audio sources. According to Phoronix, Intel has long supported SoundWire, which explains its early adoption of the latest SoundWire IP blocks.
This is also not the first Linux audio driver released by Intel for Lunar Lake. Intel is also hard at work adding two more audio drivers to Linux with support for Lunar Lake CPUs, including Sound Open Firmware 2.6 and MIDI 2.0 support.
Lunar Lake will reportedly succeed Meteor Lake and reclaim the performance-per-watt crown for Intel. Lunar Lake shares the same multi-tile technology as Meteor Lake, with CPU tiles, graphics tiles, SoC tiles, and I/O tiles, but has been upgraded to Intel’s 18A manufacturing process, making it 10 more efficient than Meteor Lake. % Better efficiency. 20A node.
Originally, Lunar Lake was scheduled to launch in 2025, but Intel pushed that schedule forward by a year to 2024 after development on the 18A process went so smoothly.
