linux-drivers/
drivers/soundwire

MIPI SoundWire host controllers (Intel, AMD, Qualcomm)

SoundWire is a MIPI Alliance audio interconnect used to connect codecs, amplifiers, and microphones to the main SoC in modern laptops, smartphones, tablets, automotive infotainment, and embedded systems. This subsystem provides the bus framework plus host-controller support for Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm platforms shipping today.

keep conf=0.94 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=soundwire category=audio
94%

recommendation

It should stay because SoundWire is a current, actively developed audio bus standard — MIPI adopted version 1.3 in September 2025, and the kernel subsystem was still receiving maintenance patches in mid-2025. New PCs and mobile devices ship with SoundWire codecs and microphones, and there is no replacement driver on the horizon.

repository signals

32 files
18,751 source lines
459 commits, 5y
+11,867 / −5,050 lines added / removed, 5y
58 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 459 total · active in 55/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-05: 10 commits · +301 −231 2021-06: 3 commits · +26 −25 2021-07: 13 commits · +250 −138 2021-08: 4 commits · +121 −37 2021-09: 2 commits · +28 −1 2021-10: 1 commit · +1 −1 2021-11: 1 commit · +1 −5 2021-12: 6 commits · +143 −186 2022-01: 22 commits · +831 −690 2022-02: 2 commits · +203 −1 2022-03: 6 commits · +7 −5 2022-04: 9 commits · +72 −25 2022-05: 3 commits · +21 −1 2022-06: 5 commits · +194 −115 2022-07: 8 commits · +78 −7 2022-08: 10 commits · +69 −33 2022-09: 24 commits · +457 −437 2022-10: 7 commits · +38 −5 2022-11: 17 commits · +999 −862 2022-12: 4 commits · +48 −52 2023-01: 9 commits · +31 −81 2023-02: 3 commits · +13 −9 2023-03: 34 commits · +2,063 −441 2023-04: 7 commits · +294 −162 2023-05: 35 commits · +801 −167 2023-06: 11 commits · +118 −109 2023-07: 8 commits · +108 −30 2023-08: 4 commits · +346 −8 2023-09: 2 commits · +118 −36 2023-10: 4 commits · +34 −14 2023-11: 9 commits · +36 −67 2023-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-01: 10 commits · +305 −90 2024-02: 5 commits · +14 −8 2024-03: 13 commits · +171 −81 2024-04: 12 commits · +175 −45 2024-05: 1 commit · +4 −9 2024-06: 7 commits · +213 −30 2024-07: 15 commits · +61 −71 2024-08: 3 commits · +105 −10 2024-09: 3 commits · +76 −46 2024-10: 15 commits · +203 −58 2024-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-12: 18 commits · +448 −107 2025-01: 1 commit · +7 −4 2025-02: 20 commits · +1,524 −81 2025-03: 1 commit · +3 −2 2025-04: 6 commits · +58 −51 2025-05: 6 commits · +18 −7 2025-06: 7 commits · +14 −10 2025-07: 4 commits · +7 −27 2025-08: 2 commits · +1 −7 2025-09: 6 commits · +172 −103 2025-10: 9 commits · +347 −134 2025-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-12: 6 commits · +33 −25 2026-01: 2 commits · +2 −1 2026-02: 4 commits · +56 −62 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    Upstream SoundWire code was still receiving nontrivial maintenance patches in 2025, indicating an active subsystem rather than abandonware.

  2. docs.kernel.org

    Linux documents SoundWire as a subsystem for audio devices on mobile/mobile-inspired systems, with explicit master/slave driver APIs and bus support.

  3. mipi.org

    MIPI lists SoundWire as a current specification with version 1.3 adopted in September 2025 and states use across smartphones, tablets, PCs, automotive and embedded systems.

  4. mipi.org

    MIPI DisCo for SoundWire remained current in 2024 and describes ACPI-based discovery/configuration for SoundWire devices in PCs and other modern systems.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

This is an active bus/host-controller driver directory, not legacy single-device support: local Kconfig inspection shows AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm master drivers. Upstream activity was checked with lore_activity on drivers/soundwire/intel.c, which returned 2025 maintenance traffic (tool: lore_activity). A removal/deprecation scan was attempted via lore_regex and produced no actionable evidence of an active removal push in this quick pass. Deployment evidence comes from kernel docs and current MIPI specification pages obtained via web search (tool: web search). Because SoundWire is a current MIPI audio interconnect used in new PCs/mobile/embedded platforms and the kernel subtree is still actively maintained, there is no natural replacement driver and the correct recommendation is to keep it.