Apple just extended uncompressed audio to all Apple Music subscriptions, but listening to music at the highest quality isn’t always possible with Cupertino’s devices.
No ultra-high quality audio for Apple’s headphones. The confirmation comes directly from Apple, which has thus put a point to the doubts about the capabilities of AirPods Max, as well as AirPods and AirPods Pro. Behind the motivation, however, there would not be a choice but a mere technical limitation, closely related to the Bluetooth protocol adopted by the device.
To give the news to the web portal The Verge was the same headquarters of Cupertino, also providing more information on the issues that actually hinder the listening of audio formats richer in color, cutting off part of the frequencies. A block that comes at a particular time for Apple, since the company has recently confirmed its willingness to add to Apple Music the ability to enjoy high quality content through the basic account of the music streaming service of the bitten apple. What are, however, in detail, the reasons for the impediment?
Apple headphones, the reasons for the limits
To make it impossible to listen to audio in very high quality on Apple devices there would be, as anticipated, the Bluetooth can not support a data transmission as full-bodied as that provided for lossless files but limited to the AAC codec. To put the load on a situation not exactly rosy, there is then another issue: that of the wiring through Lightning port.
This type of port implemented on the headphones of Cupertino does not natively support digital audio formats. Here’s what happens at the time of listening: when a 24-bit/48kHz file is played from an iPhone (a device that, in itself, is suitable for lossless) and connected to the AirPods Max via Lightning cable and the dongle connected via 3.5mm Lightning-Minijack, the format is converted to analog and then re-digitized to the same quality as before.
This conversion, however, does not produce a result identical to the original, a fundamental detail that does not allow Apple to confirm that it is indeed a lossless file. The only way, according to Cupertino, to listen to the highest quality audio on its iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV devices is to use ALAC-compatible headphones, possibly in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter.
Apple headphones, is the absence of lossless a disappointment?
It could be a misstep for Apple, given that the price of AirPods Max touches the remarkable figure of 629 euros in list; a decidedly high figure in light of the obvious limitation. On its side, the headphones can count on compatibility with Dolby Atmos Space Audio, a feature (common to all devices with H1 and W1 chips) that will allow for a multidimensional approach to the music source and will soon become part of Apple Music content in the coming months.