Digital Audio Veteran Peter Eastty Joins Apple as Director of SoC Audio Processing

Audio expert Peter Eastty of Oxford Digital Limited has left the company he co-founded to work for Apple. According to his LinkedIn profile, Eastty joined Apple in September of this year as the Director of SoC (System on Chip) Audio Processing.

eastty-linkedin
Eastty's career in digital audio spans more than 40 years, including oversight of a pioneering digital audio team at Solid State Logic, a 13-year stint at Sony as a chief consultant engineer, and more than eight years as CTO at Oxford Digital. Most of his work has focused on digital audio and digital signal processing for audio equipment.

"I’ve worked in the application of digital and computer technology to audio since I graduated from college and I still find the problems fascinating as well as the answers."

Details on Eastty's role as Director of SoC Audio Processing are unknown, but he likely is using his DSP expertise to improve the audio quality of Apple's hardware. Earlier rumors suggested Apple was working to add support for 24-bit audio files in iOS 8 and create a new 24-bit capable version of its In-Ear headphones, but those reports have not yet panned out.

Eastty is not the only audio pioneer hired by Apple in recent years. Back in 2011, Apple hired THX pioneer Tomlinson Holman to help "provide technical direction for the company in audio" as he reports on his LinkedIn profile.

(Thanks, Manu!)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Aiming to Release 'Breakthrough' New iPhone Accessory

Wednesday February 18, 2026 12:43 pm PST by
Apple is looking for a "breakthrough" with its push into wearable AI devices, including an "AirTag-sized pendant," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the pendant is reminiscent of the failed Humane AI Pin, but it would be an iPhone accessory rather than a standalone product. The pendant would feature an "always-on" camera and a microphone for Siri voice...
Multicolored Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature

Low-Cost MacBook Expected on March 4 in These Colors

Wednesday February 18, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple will announce its rumored low-cost MacBook at its event on March 4, with the device coming in a selection of bold color options, according to a known leaker. Earlier this week, Apple announced a "special Apple Experience" for the media in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Posting on Weibo, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" said that the...
iphone 17 pro green

iPhone 17 Pro Max Curiously Becomes Most Traded-In Smartphone

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:13 am PST by
New trade-in data indicates that Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max has rapidly become the single most traded-in smartphone. According to a new report from SellCell, Apple's latest flagship iPhone has quickly risen to the top of the independent trade-in market, accounting for 11.5% of all devices appearing in the top-20 trade-in rankings just months after release. The analysis is based on SellCell...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

iOS 26.4's New CarPlay Video Feature Shown in Action

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability. There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

10 Reasons to Wait for Apple's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday February 18, 2026 5:12 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...

Top Rated Comments

148 months ago
"...and create a new 24-bit capable version of its In-Ear headphones, but those reports have not yet panned out."

All headphones and speakers are analog. The digital conversion process needs to occur prior to amplification. So there's no such thing as 24bit capable headphones unless you're talking about digitally transmitting the data to the headphone via lightning or bluetooth. This is not a limitation of technology.... it is a limitation of human physiology unless you have a digital input implanted into your brain. So "digital" headphones convert the audio to analog and amplify the signal instead of your device. There's no gain for the end user to have the headphone convert the audio vs your iPhone unless you're headphone cable is 100ft long.

It doesn't matter, most people would not be able to tell the difference between 12, 16 or 24bit audio sources or 44.1k, 48k or 88.2 or 96k. This is not like the picture quality of SD, HD, 4k vs 8k

This is more like properly encoded H.264 vs H.265 vs AppleProRes with the same pixel count and framerate. You're not going to be able to tell the difference unless you've dropped a few hundred grand into a home theater setup and knew what to look for to see a difference. And even then there would no diminished entertainment quality between the various formats.

My point being that AAC 256kbps is not the weak link in your audio chain. It's your headphones or speakers. 192kbps lossy audio compression method far exceeds the reproduction quality of most headphones or speaker systems and 99.99% of people would never hear the difference unless switching between the same source at two different qualities in a properly designed recording studio.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peteullo Avatar
148 months ago
These kind of hirings make me happy... Apple's going back to their roots!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kariya Avatar
148 months ago
That beard makes him looks like some sort of Sage.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
148 months ago
This guy is part of the elite high end pro field. Not someone I would expect to be focusing on how to make iPad speakers sound better. I would hope the pro market is in for some future surprises.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CJM Avatar
148 months ago
Hmm.. With him and Trent on the team, I have some really positive feelings about the future of Apple audio quality.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
148 months ago
DSD playback on the horizon?! (I hope.)

I hope not, there are no real benefits over PCM and a whole lot of headaches.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)