In an interview with AllThingsD, recording artist Neil Young revealed that he had discussed high definition music formats with Apple's Steve Jobs prior to his death.
The interview is summarized by CNet, in which Young claims that MP3s have just "5 percent of the data present in the original recording." Young is concerned that there is no suitable high definition available to consumers.
Higher definition music, of course, would require much larger files. Young reportedly approached Apple and specifically Steve Jobs about it:
When asked if Young had approached Apple about the idea, Young said that he had, in fact, met with Jobs and was "working on it," but that "not much" ended up happening to the pursuit.
Of note, Young made mention that Jobs was a vinyl fan, despite having helmed the company that would spearhead the way people listened to and purchased digital music.
Apple presently offers their iTunes Music store at a quality of 256 kbps AACs. Apple does support a lossless audio format that can be used on their iPods and iPhones, but these files take up considerably more space than standard AAC files, and are not sold on the iTunes store. Based on the interview, it seems there is no present interest from Apple in such an offering.
Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025:
More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
Thursday January 9, 2025 3:42 pm PST by Juli Clover
If you've been hearing a chiming sound from your AirPods Pro 2 case when the AirPods are charging, it's a feature that Apple added with the launch of Hearing Health last year.
In a support guide, Apple says that the AirPods Pro may play a sound every so often while in the case to ensure the microphones and speakers are working as intended. From Apple:
To help ensure that your AirPods...
Friday January 10, 2025 3:14 am PST by Tim Hardwick
This year's iPhone 17 Pro models will feature a smaller main camera sensor than the one used in the Fusion camera currently found in iPhone 16 Pro models, according to Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.
The Chinese leaker claims that Apple will adopt a 1/1.3" sensor for the 48MP main camera in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, down from the 1/1.28" sensor used in the iPhone 16...
Friday January 10, 2025 9:20 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is widely rumored to be planning a new iPhone SE, and multiple sources lately have commented on the device's launch timing.
The latest word comes from Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a blog post today, he said the device will be released around the middle of the first half of 2025. In other words, around the quarter mark of 2025. That means the next iPhone SE will likely be ...
Apple's slate of 2025 products look to be dominated by a large number of low-cost and entry-level devices. Here's what to expect.
With advancements like Apple Intelligence and all-new in-house chip designs, Apple is reportedly looking to enhance many of its budget-friendly offerings, ensuring they remain competitive in an increasingly crowded market. These updates also indicate a slight...
Wednesday January 8, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
It was recently reported that new Apple TV and new HomePod mini models will launch this year, and the devices are expected to have one thing in common.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last month reported that the new Apple TV and the new HomePod mini will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. Gurman said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, so that could end up being a key upgrade...
Sunday January 12, 2025 4:11 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple plans to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models this year, and now he has provided a more precise timeframe.
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple is currently aiming to launch the new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year."
That timeframe suggests the devices will be released at some point...
Wednesday January 8, 2025 6:33 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
Friday January 10, 2025 2:17 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple Intelligence hasn't convinced people to buy an iPhone 16, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. According to Kuo, a supply chain survey suggests Apple Intelligence is not pushing people to upgrade their devices.
The delay between the Apple Intelligence introduction in June 2024 and a launch even after iPhone 16 models came out was a contributing factor, and Apple Intelligence "appeal...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Apple does offer lossless music on the iTunes Store. As part of their agreement with the Beetles, Apple can only sell their music in lossless.
Finally some one that speaks my language. I'm 31 and in remember that in past people used to have an hi-fi system an listen to vinyl and CD. Today people listen to music in crappy pc speaker and ipod headphones. Most people don't have hi-fi system. That's not evolution!:confused:
As someone who greatly appreciates high fidelity audio, I've got to say, high definition (aka. lossless) music is rather pointless.
The difference between a 256 kbps AAC file and a lossless file is incredibly minor - especially with the audio equipment that the vast majority of people use. Even to a discerning listener with high quality speakers or a great pair of headphones, the difference will still be very minor. Once you've reached 256kbps, you've passed the point where diminishing returns has taken over any additional data is hardly noticeable - even to an audiophile.
Besides, as long as record producers keep releasing overly compressed, loudness war'd garbage, most music will continue to sound horrible regardless. In most cases, upgrading to lossless music would be like offering a multi-vitamin to someone who has just had his legs blown off. The level of dynamic range compression that exists throughout the music industry is many orders of magnitude more significant in harming overall sound quality than the 256kbps bitrate is.
Voted Down for the comment about Lossless being Pointless (although I'm definitely an Audiophile AND a Pedant)...Voted Up for the level of DRC being far more detrimental! ;-)
Screw Apple Lossless though...What we need is support for FLAC or some other true Open-Source format on iPod/iPhone.
Apple Lossless is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.
