Apple announces support for lossless and low latency audio on AirPods Max



Apple has announced that its wireless headphones, AirPods Max , will support lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio in a firmware update to coincide with the official release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 in April 2025.

AirPods Max brings lossless and ultra-low latency audio - Apple (UK)
https://www.apple.com/jp/newsroom/2025/03/lossless-audio-and-ultra-low-latency-audio-come-to-airpods-max/

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio - MacRumors
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/24/airpods-max-lossless-audio-overhyped/

Audio files are usually compressed to reduce their file size: lossy codecs, such as MP3 and Apple's own Advanced Audio Codec (AAC), lose some data, while lossless codecs, such as Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), retain all the original data.

Apple Music, the music streaming service operated by Apple, supports lossless audio in ALAC for its entire catalog of over 100 million songs. However, to listen to lossless audio, you need to play it on the built-in speakers of your iPhone or MacBook, or use wired headphones or receivers, or powered speakers or an external DA (digital-to-analog) converter.

According to Apple, a free firmware update scheduled for April 2025 will enable 24-bit, 48kHz lossless audio on AirPods Max when connected with the included USB-C cable. Apple also says that support for ultra-low latency audio will enable music creators to get the most out of AirPods Max throughout their professional workflows in Logic Pro and other music production apps.



Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that, 'In April 2025, AirPods Max will level up with lossless and ultra-low latency audio for incredible sound quality. For music creators and music lovers alike, this is the ultimate audio upgrade!'



MacRumors, an Apple-related news site, responded to Joswiak's comments by pointing out that Apple has touted in support documents that 'audio files compressed with AAC are already virtually indistinguishable from the original uncompressed audio quality.' They went on to say that 'if lossless audio isn't a significant improvement over AAC, then Joswiak's post about it being the 'ultimate audio upgrade' is an unfair hype.'

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in Hardware, Posted by log1i_yk