Amid the slew of recent Apple merchandise launched in the present day, solely the tiniest point out was fabricated from the truth that Apple has additionally given the AirPods Professional Gen 2 wi-fi earbuds a not-so-minor refresh. Together with the anticipated addition of USB-C, making the AirPods Professional the primary Apple headphones to ditch the Lightning connector, Apple has additionally given the long-lasting white noise-canceling earbuds the power to do lossless audio wirelessly — one thing that has by no means been seen on the AirPods household earlier than, and is even a rarity amongst non-Apple wi-fi audio gadgets.
There’s, nonetheless, a catch. The “groundbreaking wi-fi audio protocol” that enables for lossless audio at 20-bit/48 kHz (a better-than-CD-quality decision) is powered by the AirPods Professional’s H2 chip, however for now, it solely works when paired with the upcoming Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional headset. In the meanwhile, Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec (when used with appropriate wi-fi headphones and smartphones) is the one know-how that helps lossless audio wirelessly, and even that know-how is proscribed to 16-bit/48kHz.
We’ve reached out to Apple to seek out out extra about this new wi-fi protocol — it’s unlikely to be Bluetooth, as lossless audio at 20/48 would possibly require extra bandwidth than Bluetooth can maintain — but it surely could possibly be made attainable through ultra-wideband (UWB), the identical wi-fi know-how that lets your iPhone find your AirPods Professional with a excessive diploma of accuracy. It wouldn’t be the primary time that an audio firm has labored with UWB — PSB says it’ll debut its first UWB wi-fi headphones in 2024.
Apple says that together with the protocol’s lossless functionality, it’ll even have ultra-low latency. That’s important for gaming and to make sure that what you see on the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s display screen matches what you hear with the AirPods Professional. It’s additionally yet one more side of UWB, which presents extraordinarily fast knowledge transmission.
One other element we’ll be making an attempt to clear up is whether or not or not the earlier AirPods Professional Gen 2 (with the Lightning charging case) will probably be up to date with lossless audio. You’d assume the reply can be sure, however Apple’s announcement appears to counsel in any other case:
“AirPods Professional (2nd era) are upgraded with USB‑C charging capabilities, further mud resistance, and Lossless Audio with Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. With iOS 17, all AirPods Professional (2nd era) degree up with entry to new audio experiences like Adaptive Audio and Dialog Consciousness.”
Notice the usage of the phrase “all” within the second sentence to differentiate between the older AirPods Professional (2nd era) with Lightning and the brand new mannequin with USB-C. One solution to interpret that’s to say that solely the USB-C mannequin will get lossless audio.
As quickly as we get extra particulars, we’ll replace this put up.
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