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™ IQ-8275 | 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™ IQ-8275 | 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™ IQ-8275 | 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:
- Input resolution: 80x3000 (30 seconds audio)
- Max decoded sequence length: 200 tokens
- Model checkpoint: openai/whisper-small
- Model size (decoder) (float): 533 MB
- Model size (encoder) (float): 391 MB
- Number of parameters (decoder): 139M
- Number of parameters (encoder): 102M
Performance Summary
| Model | Runtime | Precision | Chipset | Inference Time (ms) | Peak Memory Range (MB) | Primary Compute Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 6.461 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 9.775 ms | 287 - 287 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 9.712 ms | 75 - 87 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 17.976 ms | 74 - 89 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 14.868 ms | 60 - 123 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 12.312 ms | 0 - 319 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 17.976 ms | 74 - 89 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 13.585 ms | 60 - 122 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 9.775 ms | 287 - 287 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 8.405 ms | 46 - 56 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 8.405 ms | 46 - 56 MB | NPU |
| decoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 7.386 ms | 43 - 53 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 7.067 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 10.377 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 9.918 ms | 60 - 68 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 17.811 ms | 60 - 75 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 15.102 ms | 60 - 129 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 19.288 ms | 47 - 58 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 12.239 ms | 60 - 62 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 13.75 ms | 50 - 59 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 13.75 ms | 50 - 59 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 13.75 ms | 50 - 59 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 17.811 ms | 60 - 75 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 13.543 ms | 60 - 128 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 10.377 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 8.353 ms | 0 - 9 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 19.288 ms | 47 - 58 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 14.621 ms | 55 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 8.353 ms | 0 - 9 MB | NPU |
| decoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 7.371 ms | 45 - 55 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 7.245 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 10.093 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 9.847 ms | 37 - 45 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 17.843 ms | 60 - 75 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 19.112 ms | 39 - 48 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 12.24 ms | 60 - 62 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 13.731 ms | 57 - 66 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 13.731 ms | 57 - 66 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 13.731 ms | 57 - 66 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 17.843 ms | 60 - 75 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 13.47 ms | 60 - 128 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 10.093 ms | 60 - 60 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 8.376 ms | 25 - 35 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 19.112 ms | 39 - 48 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 14.183 ms | 47 - 53 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 8.376 ms | 25 - 35 MB | NPU |
| decoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 7.42 ms | 1 - 11 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 59.931 ms | 133 - 133 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 133.179 ms | 255 - 255 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 100.006 ms | 129 - 142 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 275.63 ms | 125 - 139 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 165.101 ms | 125 - 129 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 129.486 ms | 125 - 128 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 275.63 ms | 125 - 139 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 155.376 ms | 127 - 131 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 133.179 ms | 255 - 255 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 69.809 ms | 116 - 128 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 69.809 ms | 116 - 128 MB | NPU |
| encoder | PRECOMPILED_QNN_ONNX | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 57.779 ms | 126 - 138 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 60.344 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 132.481 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 97.324 ms | 1 - 8 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 272.234 ms | 1 - 15 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 165.301 ms | 0 - 56 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 450.308 ms | 0 - 9 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 128.92 ms | 1 - 13 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 155.24 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 155.24 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 155.24 ms | 0 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 272.234 ms | 1 - 15 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 154.419 ms | 1 - 55 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 132.481 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 70.225 ms | 1 - 14 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 450.308 ms | 0 - 9 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 200.051 ms | 1 - 6 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 70.225 ms | 1 - 14 MB | NPU |
| encoder | QNN_CONTEXT_BINARY | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 57.732 ms | 1 - 9 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X2 Elite | 60.864 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® X Elite | 132.173 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile | 97.22 ms | 1 - 8 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile | 272.938 ms | 0 - 12 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-8275 | 451.58 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS8550 (Proxy) | 129.515 ms | 1 - 62 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8775P | 154.182 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8650P | 154.182 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8255P | 154.182 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® QCS8450 | 272.938 ms | 0 - 12 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-9075 | 154.969 ms | 0 - 55 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ IQ-X7181 | 132.173 ms | 0 - 0 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ Q-8750 | 70.647 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA7255P | 451.58 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Qualcomm® SA8295P | 200.183 ms | 1 - 7 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile | 70.647 ms | 1 - 10 MB | NPU |
| encoder | VOICE_AI | float | Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile | 57.697 ms | 1 - 10 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.
