Whisper-Small: Optimized for Qualcomm Devices
HuggingFace Whisper-Small ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) model is a state-of-the-art system designed for transcribing spoken language into written text. This model is based on the transformer architecture and has been optimized for edge inference by replacing Multi-Head Attention (MHA) with Single-Head Attention (SHA) and linear layers with convolutional (conv) layers. It exhibits robust performance in realistic, noisy environments, making it highly reliable for real-world applications. Specifically, it excels in long-form transcription, capable of accurately transcribing audio clips up to 30 seconds long. Time to the first token is the encoder's latency, while time to each additional token is decoder's latency, where we assume a max decoded length specified below.
This is based on the implementation of Whisper-Small found here. This repository contains pre-exported model files optimized for Qualcomm® devices. You can use the Qualcomm® AI Hub Models library to export with custom configurations. More details on model performance across various devices, can be found here.
Qualcomm AI Hub Models uses Qualcomm AI Hub Workbench to compile, profile, and evaluate this model. Sign up to run these models on a hosted Qualcomm® device.
Deploying Whisper-Small on-device
This model is compatible with the Qualcomm Voice AI SDK. Download the SDK from the Qualcomm Package Manager to deploy this model on-device.
Getting Started
There are two ways to deploy this model on your device:
Option 1: Download Pre-Exported Models
Below are pre-exported model assets ready for deployment.
| Runtime | Precision | Chipset | SDK Versions | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45, ONNX Runtime 1.27.1 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
| VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | QAIRT 2.45 | Download |
For more device-specific assets and performance metrics, visit Whisper-Small on Qualcomm® AI Hub.
Option 2: Export with Custom Configurations
Use the Qualcomm® AI Hub Models Python library to compile and export the model with your own:
- Custom weights (e.g., fine-tuned checkpoints)
- Custom input shapes
- Target device and runtime configurations
This option is ideal if you need to customize the model beyond the default configuration provided here.
See our repository for Whisper-Small on GitHub for usage instructions.
Model Details
Model Type: Model_use_case.speech_recognition
Model Stats:
- Model checkpoint: openai/whisper-small
- Input resolution: 80x3000 (30 seconds audio)
- Max decoded sequence length: 200 tokens
- Number of parameters (encoder): 102M
- Model size (encoder) (float): 391 MB
- Number of parameters (decoder): 139M
- Model size (decoder) (float): 533 MB
Performance Summary
| Model | Runtime | Precision | Chipset | Inference Time (ms) | Peak Memory Range (MB) | Primary Compute Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 6.382 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 10.097 ms | 287 - 287 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 9.772 ms | 75 - 87 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 17.698 ms | 75 - 91 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 12.188 ms | 0 - 318 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 17.698 ms | 75 - 91 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 13.644 ms | 60 - 122 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 10.097 ms | 287 - 287 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 8.419 ms | 58 - 69 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 8.419 ms | 58 - 69 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 7.418 ms | 43 - 55 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 7.088 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 10.172 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 9.695 ms | 36 - 44 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 17.665 ms | 60 - 75 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8275 | 19.253 ms | 48 - 56 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 12.074 ms | 58 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 13.715 ms | 45 - 54 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 13.715 ms | 45 - 54 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 13.715 ms | 45 - 54 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 17.665 ms | 60 - 75 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 13.422 ms | 60 - 128 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 10.172 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 8.371 ms | 7 - 20 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 19.253 ms | 48 - 56 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 14.617 ms | 58 - 63 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 8.371 ms | 7 - 20 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 7.365 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 7.091 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 10.325 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 9.843 ms | 37 - 45 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 17.768 ms | 60 - 74 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8275 | 19.161 ms | 55 - 65 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 11.953 ms | 58 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 13.788 ms | 54 - 64 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 13.788 ms | 54 - 64 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 13.788 ms | 54 - 64 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 17.768 ms | 60 - 74 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 13.917 ms | 60 - 128 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 10.325 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 8.322 ms | 29 - 42 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 19.161 ms | 55 - 65 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 14.518 ms | 55 - 61 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 8.322 ms | 29 - 42 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 7.357 ms | 45 - 54 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 60.083 ms | 133 - 133 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 132.021 ms | 255 - 255 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 97.809 ms | 130 - 142 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 277.727 ms | 125 - 140 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 131.034 ms | 0 - 258 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 277.727 ms | 125 - 140 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 155.382 ms | 127 - 131 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 132.021 ms | 255 - 255 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 70.502 ms | 127 - 139 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 70.502 ms | 127 - 139 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 58.0 ms | 130 - 141 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 60.168 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 132.887 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 97.198 ms | 17 - 24 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 270.612 ms | 0 - 13 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8275 | 449.261 ms | 0 - 8 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 130.318 ms | 0 - 3 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 155.587 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 155.587 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 155.587 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 270.612 ms | 0 - 13 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 154.733 ms | 0 - 55 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 132.887 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 70.132 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 449.261 ms | 0 - 8 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 200.172 ms | 1 - 6 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 70.132 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 58.128 ms | 1 - 9 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 59.745 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 132.154 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 97.091 ms | 1 - 8 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 273.897 ms | 0 - 12 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8275 | 449.858 ms | 1 - 9 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 129.278 ms | 0 - 3 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 154.683 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 154.683 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 154.683 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 273.897 ms | 0 - 12 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 154.412 ms | 0 - 55 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 132.154 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 70.375 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 449.858 ms | 1 - 9 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 200.143 ms | 1 - 7 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 70.375 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 57.78 ms | 1 - 9 MB | NPU |
License
- The license for the original implementation of Whisper-Small can be found here.
References
Community
- Join our AI Hub Slack community to collaborate, post questions and learn more about on-device AI.
- For questions or feedback please reach out to us.
