Windows 10 Gaining Improved Audio Support for AirPods in Future Update
The next major update for Windows 10 later this year will include improved support for Apple's line of AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones and earbud speakers.
In a blog post, Microsoft says it is planning to add support for AAC, or Advanced Audio Coding for Bluetooth devices, which will offer improved audio quality for AirPods, iTunes, and Apple Music users. Windows currently only supports SBC codec and aptX for Bluetooth devices.
Enjoy premium audio streaming quality wirelessly on your Bluetooth headphones and speakers with AAC codec. Short for Advanced Audio Codec, AAC is a lossy codec that delivers high quality audio streaming in smaller files – great for listening to music online.
Alongside AAC support, the Windows 10 update will make it easier to select Bluetooth headphones, speakers, and earbuds from the Windows bar. As Microsoft describes:
No more clicking through multiple audio endpoints to make your Bluetooth headset's voice and mic work properly. We now only expose one audio endpoint in the UI and will switch to the correct one automatically for you for a seamless experience. Listening to Spotify and then have to hop onto a Teams call? You can also now directly control the volume of your headset
The new features, accompanied with bug fixes and improvements, will be available to all Windows 10 users later this year. However, members of the Windows Insider program can receive a beta with the new additions with the latest build.
Related Stories
Apple today announced that starting in June, Apple Music songs will be available to stream in Lossless and Hi-Resolution Lossless formats, but lossless audio won't be supported on the AirPods, AirPods Max, or AirPods Pro.
Apple's Lossless Audio is encoded as Apple Lossless Audio Codec files, with lossless quality ranging from 16-bit 44.1 kHz playback to 24-bit 48 kHz playback and Hi-Res...
Apple released macOS Monterey 12.2 earlier this week, and some Mac users who have installed the software update are experiencing excessive battery drain during sleep mode, seemingly due to Bluetooth accessories frequently waking the computers.
The issue has been reported by users across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and Twitter over the last several days, but it is unclear how widespread it...
Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset could be delayed until 2023 after being beset with issues during the development process, according to Bloomberg.
Concept render based on purported leaked information by Ian Zelbo Citing people familiar with Apple's plans, the report claims that Apple originally planned to launch the headset in 2021 and ship it this year. The company then set its sights on...
Apple today discontinued the Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Speaker that's been available since 2015, removing it from the online Apple Store. Searching for the speaker brings up no results on Apple's store, and as noted by 9to5Mac, it has also been removed from the Beats website.
The Beats Pill+ Speaker first came out in 2015, and it was priced at $230 at launch, but Apple had been selling it for...
Wednesday February 16, 2022 2:24 am PST by
Sami FathiIn an interview with Billboard, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats, Oliver Schusser, details the growth of and reaction to Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio on the streaming platform. Apple Music gained Spatial Audio and Lossless support in June 2021, and since, Apple has continued to add new songs to its catalog that support both new features. Apple had previously promised that ...
Following three months of beta testing, Microsoft has officially released Windows 11, which brings a new design, new multitasking features, and other software additions to the PC-using public.
Perhaps inspired by macOS, the main Windows 11 screen features rounded corners on several interface elements including application windows, and in combination with a new theming system that combines...
Microsoft has declined to make a version of Windows 11 available for Apple's M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max Macs that are built on an Arm architecture, and now we may know the reason - a secret exclusivity deal with Qualcomm.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. According to XDA-Developers, Arm-based Windows has only been made available on devices with Qualcomm SoC's because of ...
The second-generation AirPods Pro are widely expected to launch in the second half of this year. In preparation for the launch, Apple's suppliers are getting ready for shipments of the new high-end AirPods, according to a new report from DigiTimes.
The new second-generation AirPods Pro are widely expected to feature a new design, improved audio, the ability to play back Apple Music lossless...
Popular Stories
Apple earlier this week announced the discontinuation of the iPod touch, and because it was the last iPod still available for purchase, its sunsetting effectively marks the end of the entire iPod lineup.
To send the iPod on its way, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the most notable iPod releases over the last 21 years.
Original iPod (2001)
Introduced in October...
iOS 16 will include new ways of interacting with the system and some "fresh Apple apps," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said, offering some more detail on what Apple has in store for the upcoming release of iOS and iPadOS set to be announced in a few weeks at WWDC. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman wrote that while iOS 16 is not likely to introduce a major face-lift to...
It's been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup. Offered in 14-inch and 16-inch display sizes, the new-look MacBooks wowed Apple fans and creative pros alike with their powerful custom Apple silicon, mini-LED screen, and multiple connectivity options. But there are still some things you can't do with a MacBook Pro. Here are five features some Mac users are still...
While there are as yet no concrete rumors related to which devices iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will support, the discontinuation of the iPod touch earlier this week may be an indication that as many as nine devices could be about to lose support for Apple's upcoming operating systems.
iOS and iPadOS 13, 14, and 15 support all of the same devices, with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus,...
Apple has launched a special limited-time offer for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad trade-in that offers customers additional credit when trading in their only device for a new one.
The offer is being run in several countries including the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, and France. In the UK, Apple is offering up to £50 of extra trade-in credit...
Sony's flagship WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones have been among the best on the market for some time, and today Sony announced its fifth-generation WH-1000XM5 headphones, boasting a new design and several improvements over the previous model.
The redesigned headphones replace the shrouded arms that swivel on the XM4's with an exposed arm that has a single contact point at the earcups,...
Apple plans to launch a new version of the Apple TV in the second half of 2022, according to well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a tweet today, Kuo said the new Apple TV will have an improved cost structure, suggesting that the device could have a lower price that is more competitive with other streaming media players like Google's Chromecast line, Amazon's Fire TV line, and the Roku line. ...
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models will be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color, according to a recent rumor.
The claim comes from a post on Chinese social media site Weibo by an unverified source and purports to reveal the full range of color options for Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. Compared to the selection of color...
Top Rated Comments
you realize that same industry has products for macOS too, right?
security issues are being found with Apple devices at an alarming rate.
Secondly, if you want to go down the path of security holes, one can 'shoot holes' in every OS in existence.
Here is a recent example on macOS:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macos-11-3-patches-security-vulnerability-that-bypassed-built-in-malware-protections.2293352/?post=29838898#post-29838898
Pot and kettle?