An Apple engineer has addressed the lack of lossless audio support in the second-generation AirPods Pro in a new interview.
Current Bluetooth technology in the AirPods lineup means that Apple's audio products do not support Apple Music Lossless audio. Apple has previously hinted that it may develop its own codec and connectivity standard that builds on AirPlay and supports higher quality audio streaming, but so far has not made any such move.
Apple Music offers lossless streaming which is 24-bit and up to 48KHz, and high-res lossless which goes up to 192KHz and requires an external digital-to-analog converter.
In an interview with What Hi-Fi?, Apple engineer Esge Andersen, who works on the company's acoustic team, said that Apple does not believe that current Bluetooth technology is a limiting factor in audio quality for the AirPods. Anderson added that even with current Bluetooth technology and codec standards, Apple can still make improvements in audio quality while the company's focus remains on reliability.
Andersen remains coy, saying that while audio quality is always a priority, "it is important to understand that we can still make big strides without changing the codec. And the codec choice we have there today, it's more about reliability. So it's about making something robust in all environments."
"We want to push the sound quality forward, and we can do that with a lot of other elements. We don't think that the codec currently is the limitation of audio quality on Bluetooth products."
During the interview, Anderson also offered an interesting look into how Apple developed the new second-generation AirPods Pro and how it validates sound quality. Anderson revealed that Apple has a panel of "sound experts" that offer Apple's engineers feedback on audio quality. "And at the end of the day, there is somewhat of a compromise, because you can't make it perfect for everybody yet," he said.
One of the most considerable improvements with the new second-generation AirPods Pro is better Active Noise Cancellation. Apple says that ANC on the new AirPods Pro is up to 2x better than before. Anderson said Apple was pushed to make this large improvement because it wanted "to give everybody an AirPods Max in their pocket."
He's right though, for most people, reliability is everything. Everyone notices when one or both earbuds drop out. Pretty much no one (according to blind tests) will notice lossless support in comparison to the quality offered now.
It’s been proven numerous times that lossless is pretty much indistinguishable from a good quality MP3 file; certainly in this kind of equipment. It would just be a waste of bandwidth.
The problem with 'lossless' music, is that to listen to it in order to really hear the benefits, you need some pretty decent kit. Either a decent hi-fi set up, or some very good earphones. IE; stuff that's superior to pretty much any wireless ear of headphones. I have done my own 'trials' with MP3 files at various quality, and 'lossless' music via CD. And above 192Kbps, you need progressively higher quality hi-fi gear to actually discern any difference at all. By 320Kbps, I could not tell the difference. Now that's entirely subjective and everyone's ears are different, but I'd be confident that not many people over 30, or even 20, could tell the difference either.
The next, and possibly most important factor, is 'does it actually matter'. For the vast majority of people, I'd say no. A lot of my older MP3 collection is pretty poorly encoded by current standards, but I can still enjoy the music. I'm fairly fussy about sound, yet I enjoy my APP2s, even though I know they are some way off 'proper' ear/headphones (ie stuff that costs many hundreds, if not thousands of pounds). At home, I have a lot of music ripped as lossless files, though some fairly decent speakers, and that experience is improved by having better quality source files. But for just walking about in a noisy environment, then APPs or indeed most basic ear/headphones are fine. Because I just enjoy the music.
'Lossless' audio is pretty much a gimmick. It has potential for high end systems, and multi channel recordings, but tbh for the vast majority, it's like having a car that can drive at 150mph, whilst most people have neither the skill nor the suitable environment to use the vehicle to anywhere near its true potential. Actually, not even like that most of the time. The average set of ear/headphones sold will be some way below the 'hi-fi' standard, very much in the 'consumer' range, so more like say a basic lower end Ford or whatever.
I wonder if my hearing is truly bad or if people simply have a placebo effect.
Tried Master, Atmos and 360 Real Audio on Tidal and I hear no difference to regular 320kbs on Spotify, certainly don’t feel „emerged into the experience of feeling like I am at a concert hall“ as marketing always says
Lossless audio is a nice thing to have for archiving music but it is not really needed when you are on the go or just listening to music. AAC does an very good job and Apple makes the best AAC encoder out there.
The ANC on the AirPods Pro 2 is a noticeable improvement. The bass response has also improved, without being overbearing. Just ordered another pair for a Christmas gift.
Tuesday September 6, 2022 5:45 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple reportedly plans to introduce the second-generation AirPods Pro alongside the iPhone 14 during a special event at Steve Jobs Theater this Wednesday. If you are considering upgrading to the new AirPods Pro once they are released, keep reading for a list of new features and improvements that have been rumored so far.
In addition to all-new features, the second-generation AirPods Pro will ...
Wednesday September 7, 2022 7:40 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
All four new iPhone 14 models and the second-generation AirPods Pro include support for Bluetooth 5.3, according to Apple's tech specs for each device, but the status of LE Audio support for the devices remains unclear at this time.
LE Audio, which can be supported on any device with Bluetooth 5.2 or higher, is a low-power audio streaming specification that would have several benefits for...
Saturday September 3, 2022 6:40 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
In 2020, Bluetooth 5.2 was introduced with support for a new LE Audio specification. At least two Apple employees are listed as participants in the development of LE Audio, and Apple is likely to adopt the specification for use in future devices.
According to a newly published filing in the Bluetooth SIG database, Apple recently had an unknown component with Bluetooth 5.3 support tested. The ...
The AirPods Pro launched over 1,000 days ago and are the oldest current-generation Apple device still on sale. With a new model believed to be on the brink of announcement by Apple, customers should now hold off on purchasing AirPods Pro until the new model arrives.
Apple announced the AirPods Pro on Monday, October 28, 2019. The earbuds went on sale immediately and orders started arriving...
Wednesday September 7, 2022 2:31 pm PDT by Sami Fathi
The new AirPods Pro, despite featuring an all-new H2 chip and improved audio quality, do not appear to include support for lossless Apple Music audio.
The H2 chip is the successor to the previous H1 chip and delivers new features like improved Active Noise Cancellation, an improved Transparency mode, and better sound overall. One rumored new capability of the new chip was that it would...
Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro could deliver higher fidelity audio than the AirPods Max over-ear headphones, despite being comparatively small in-ear buds, recent reports have suggested.
In a recent note to investors, seen by MacRumors, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that the second-generation AirPods Pro will offer improved audio quality thanks to support...
Thursday September 8, 2022 10:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple this week introduced second-generation AirPods Pro with improved audio quality, longer battery life, up to 2x as much noise cancellation as the original AirPods Pro, a revamped charging case with Find My support and water resistance, a new extra small ear tip option, the ability to swipe up and down on the stem to adjust volume, and more.
In addition to these major new features, there...
Wednesday September 21, 2022 12:34 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Update: AirPods Pro 2 unboxing videos and reviews are now out. Original story follows.
Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday. Ahead of time, an early unboxing video of the new AirPods Pro has surfaced on YouTube, providing a closer look at what's in the box and more.
Apple already provided the media hands-on time with the new ...
Tuesday November 29, 2022 11:54 am PST by Juli Clover
An unnamed 27-year-old man who purchased 300 iPhones from Apple Fifth Avenue on Monday morning was robbed shortly after leaving the store, according to 1010Wins Radio in New York.
He was carrying 300 iPhone 13s in three bags and walking to his car at 1:45 a.m. when another car pulled up next to him. Two men jumped out and demanded that he hand over the bags. Not wanting to hand over 300...
Wednesday November 30, 2022 10:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 16.1.2, another minor bug fix update that comes one week after the release of iOS 16.1.1 and three weeks after the launch of iOS 16.1, an update that added support for iCloud Shared Photo Library, Matter, Live Activities, and more.
The iOS 16.1.2 update can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According...
Apple today announced its 2022 App Store Award winners, highlighting the 16 best apps and games selected by Apple's global App Store editorial team.
The top apps were chosen by Apple for their quality, innovative technology, creative design, positive cultural impact, and ability to deliver "exceptional experiences." Apple CEO Tim Cook said:
This year's App Store Award winners reimagined...
Wednesday November 30, 2022 2:39 am PST by Sami Fathi
Geekbench scores allegedly for the upcoming "M2 Max" chip have surfaced online, offering a closer look at the performance levels and specific details of the forthcoming Apple silicon processor.
The Geekbench results, first spotted on Twitter, are for a Mac configuration of with the M2 Max chip, a 12-core CPU, and 96GB of memory. The Mac listed has an identifier "Mac14,6," which could be...
Tuesday November 29, 2022 1:01 pm PST by Juli Clover
Anker's popular Eufy-branded security cameras appear to be sending some data to the cloud, even when cloud storage is disabled and local only storage settings are turned on. The information comes from security consultant Paul Moore, who last week published a video outlining the issue.
According to Moore, he purchased a Eufy Doorbell Dual, which was meant to be a device that stored video...
Wednesday November 30, 2022 12:43 pm PST by Juli Clover
Twitter CEO Elon Musk today met with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, according to a tweet shared by Musk this afternoon.
Musk thanked Cook for taking him around Apple's headquarters, with no mention of what the two might have discussed. The meeting comes just after Musk on Monday claimed that Apple has "mostly stopped" offering ads on Twitter, and that...
Elon Musk has pledged to offer an "alternative phone" if Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores, adding to long-standing rumors about an iPhone rival from Tesla.
Modified iPhone 11 Pro in the style of the Tesla Cybertruck, by Caviar. Musk's remark came after being asked about the potential scenario of Twitter being removed from app stores, which could conceivably happen if the...
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping rush is drawing to a close, but there are still some good deals to be had out there. For Apple products, many of the deals you've seen since last week are still available, though some have expired. So for anyone who missed out on Black Friday deals, there's still an opportunity to get some of the year's best prices on many Apple devices.
Note: ...
Apple today rolled out an updated Apple Music Replay experience for 2022, showcasing a new "highlight reel" feature.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The overhauled experience, which started to be noticed by Apple Music subcribers on Twitter earlier today, puts the new highlight reel feature at the forefront of the Replay webpage, which users are encouraged to...
Monday November 28, 2022 11:00 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 models will be equipped with Sony's newest "state of the art" image sensors, according to a report from Nikkei.
Compared to standard sensors, Sony's image sensor doubles the saturation signal in each pixel, allowing it to capture more light to cut down on underexposure and overexposure. Nikkei says that it is able to better photograph a person's face even with...
Top Rated Comments
It would just be a waste of bandwidth.
The next, and possibly most important factor, is 'does it actually matter'. For the vast majority of people, I'd say no. A lot of my older MP3 collection is pretty poorly encoded by current standards, but I can still enjoy the music. I'm fairly fussy about sound, yet I enjoy my APP2s, even though I know they are some way off 'proper' ear/headphones (ie stuff that costs many hundreds, if not thousands of pounds). At home, I have a lot of music ripped as lossless files, though some fairly decent speakers, and that experience is improved by having better quality source files. But for just walking about in a noisy environment, then APPs or indeed most basic ear/headphones are fine. Because I just enjoy the music.
'Lossless' audio is pretty much a gimmick. It has potential for high end systems, and multi channel recordings, but tbh for the vast majority, it's like having a car that can drive at 150mph, whilst most people have neither the skill nor the suitable environment to use the vehicle to anywhere near its true potential. Actually, not even like that most of the time. The average set of ear/headphones sold will be some way below the 'hi-fi' standard, very much in the 'consumer' range, so more like say a basic lower end Ford or whatever.
Tried Master, Atmos and 360 Real Audio on Tidal and I hear no difference to regular 320kbs on Spotify, certainly don’t feel „emerged into the experience of feeling like I am at a concert hall“ as marketing always says