Qualcomm announces aptX Adaptive; plans to get rid of wired headphones

31 August 2018
Goodbye 3.5 mm audio jack, hello Bluetooth headphones.

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  • 02 Sep 2018

well you know guys u all like noobs
did u already try listen for example sony w1000xm2 on aptx hd or dlac
don't compare with ur shiity phone like apple or whatever

    JohnW1981, 01 Sep 2018In reality how soon and how widespread will this happen? I'... moreI very much doubt Apple will license anything of the sort from Qualcomm. The two aren't exactly on the best of terms. And the SBC standard codec Apple is currently using is performing admirably at 372 kbit/s, which is at or above what even most music streaming services offer.

    I can't see how getting atpX or aptX HD will help anyone, as exceedingly few Bluetooth headphones use those codecs. And, as I said, SBC is actually performing really well as it is. It has evolved quite a lot from its former days.

      imRGZ, 01 Sep 2018You should also understand my point: Is that Apple didn't r... moreThey didn't use the space beneficially? They used it excellently. They managed to cram in far more space-wise than the port even took up because they not only used the free space, but even took the time to rearrange the internals to free up additional space. And they used that space on things a lot of customers valued.

      And your comparison between the iPhone 8 Plus and the Note 9 makes no sense on several levels. First of all, they're vastly different manufacturers. The port is a minor detail compared to all the thousands of other things that set the devices apart. And you're literally comparing a brand new phone to last years iPhone.

      Apple is aiming for a wireless future. They always have, and always will. They'll ditch the Lightning port as well, as soon as they've laid out the groundwork for it with their wireless charging solutions.

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        • imRGZ
        • Lfs
        • 01 Sep 2018

        FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018I think you need to sit down and start focusing on what you... moreYou should also understand my point: Is that Apple didn't really used the space, beneficially, it got by removing the jack. And i brought Note9 for just comparison sake, that to have a bigger taptic engine or bigger battery, there is no need to remove the jack. I just reacted to your statement that space was used for better purposes. In Apple's case it isn't, no matter what you argue. As an owner of both the Note8 and iPhone 8 Plus, i can surely say this. I didn't find the bigger taptic engine and additional 245 mah battery capacity justifiable for removal of jack. Extra battery capacity didn't give me a full day of moderate usage. Yes Note9 is thicker by 1.3mm but it does cram far more internals than an iPhone 8 Plus. You say better usage of phone's internal space, that's Note9 for you. Majority of people will find a 4000 mah battery, 6.4" screen more useful than just a bigger taptic engine(it is so useful that Apple ditched it altogether in iPhone X and its successors). Apple wants us to buy their airpods, and hence ditched the jack, it's not that it got removed for the space to be used in a better way. End of discussion.

          • M
          • Moj
          • 3d6
          • 01 Sep 2018

          FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018I haven't said anything about convenience. Though not havin... moreInteresting as i almost daily walk to company which i work for and listening to music all the way and cables never get tugged or any thing else!
          About noise we are not living in 90's era there are ways of eliminating noise which are not costly and already have been in top product. So i assume that you either have no idea or just don't want to accept what happening.
          Wooow you just underestimate human hearing ability!
          I really do not know what to say!

            FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018It's a Bluetooth protocol. Any manufacturer can license it,... moreIn reality how soon and how widespread will this happen? I've never seen Apple use a qualcomm Bluetooth codec, they've never even been on board with APTX so I can't see them rushing to license this new adaptive version. Same for many of the others, HTC are returning to 3.5 mm port, Nokia users have complained on threads about oreo not enabling APTX/HD even in the high end devices. And Huawei probably will need time to embrace as they only recently included APTX HD in their flagships

              imRGZ, 01 Sep 2018I never debated in support of jack's removal. So you are bo... moreI think you need to sit down and start focusing on what you're even arguing about.

              In my first comment - the comment you responded to first - I said that if you want a phone with a 3.5 mm port, you can buy one. For all of us that don't care about a 3.5 mm port, we can now buy phones that have put that space to better use.

              And now I've given you examples of how that space has been put to better use. For other manufacturers the removal has meant larger batteries, better optimised thermals or thinner devices. It doesn't matter. To me, who never use the 3.5 mm port, they could fill the extra space with manure and it'd still be a better use of the space.

              I really don't care if you think the Taptic Engine is pointless. I don't care if you think a 15 % larger battery is tiny. I don't care about your love for one of the thickest phones on the market. I don't want the 3.5 mm port in any phone I buy, and that's my right as the one who actually pay for it. Try to grasp that not everyone wants the same thing you want.

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                • imRGZ
                • DkQ
                • 01 Sep 2018

                Anonymous, 01 Sep 2018Airpods were the tops seller at Apple Store. Followed by do... moreThey are the top sellers at Apple Stores, because Apple fanboys have general blind belief that whatever Apple produces are the fancier and best. They may be fancier but not best. Because they don't try other offerings. I can tell a few which have far better sound quality than airpods and still cost less. Apple fan's mindset is as closed as Apple's ecosystem.

                  • i
                  • imRGZ
                  • DkQ
                  • 01 Sep 2018

                  FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018The question was if I could tell you how the extra volume w... moreI never debated in support of jack's removal. So you are boasting of taptic engine which isn't a must have feature in a phone? So, according to you, Apple could only put a taptic engine and 245 mah of extra battery space. And considering the competition, they aren't major upgrades, and doesn't warrant removal of jack in any way possible. And do you think Apple provides you highest level of ingress protection? iPhone 8 plus has a rating of IP67 and Note9 has IP68. What can you say about Note9, it has 6.4" screen, 4000mah battery, jack, and a slot for spen apart from having better ingress protection than iPhone 8 plus? And it's just few millimeters tall. You think Note9's footprint is that of two iPhone 8 plusses? lol. Samsung crammed all those in almost same footprint as an iPhone 8 Plus. My point is Apple's claim of freeing space by removing the jack is just a business tactic to earn more money through their airpod sales. Nothing else. Because even if they wanted to cram bigger haptic engine and a HUGE 245 mah more battery capacity, they would have found space to include jack.

                    Moj, 01 Sep 2018"And another thing with mobile audio is that you're nearly ... moreI haven't said anything about convenience. Though not having cables to get tugged, transfer noise or get in the way is a bonus.

                    As for your ability to hear the difference between higher-quality Bluetooth and wired connections in environments with background noise, I'll believe it when I see it. Hearing the difference is usually hard enough for people in quiet listening environments.

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                      • Moj
                      • 0p}
                      • 01 Sep 2018

                      FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018I'm an "audiophile" in the sense that I appreciate great so... more"And another thing with mobile audio is that you're nearly never in a silent environment when you listen to music on your phone. You're either walking around, in which case you get to enjoy cable noise and noise from the surrounding environment, or you sit still and just get the noise around you. I'd much rather have the convenience of Bluetooth for those situations, and it's nearly impossible to distinguish the lower Bluetooth audio quality in those environments."
                      First of all what convenience would bluetooth bring in this situations? please enlighten me!(did used both in this situations and no difference in convenience and both were really comfortable)
                      And i am certainly able to distinguish lower bluetooth audio quality in almost any situation.
                      so it is a big bummer to force us to use BT rather wire!

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                        • Anonymous
                        • PGq
                        • 01 Sep 2018

                        Do I need to mention Bluetooth / Wireless headphones can transmit radiation WAY QUICKER than Wired headphones (radiation level is super low) if used most of the entire day? This means Qualcomm is silently "killing" us in accordance with the orders from NWO. This will ensure tech manufacturers and NWO can "eat" all of our money by seeing doctors everyday because we are "forced" to use Bluetooth / Wireless headphones in our daily lives. The ONLY way is to use wired headphones and STICK to phones that keep the 3.5mm jack.

                          imRGZ, 01 Sep 2018Lol. Bigger Taptic Engine? It's just a home button with a f... moreThe question was if I could tell you how the extra volume was used after the removal of the 3.5 mm port. I just informed you what the space was used for. Waterproofing, bigger battery, better Taptic Engine. Major improvements.

                          Look at this image: https://i.imgur.com/mXnpjAf.jpg

                          The Taptic Engine is nearly twice as big in the iPhone 7. The audio port is huge internally, and blocked the option to expand either the Taptic Engine or the battery downwards. The Taptic Engine is also not just for the home button, it's used in a lot of interactions with the phone, and has gotten great reviews from users. So clearly it's not wasted.

                          And I'm not sure why you're being facetious about the 245 mAh extra battery. How much extra space do you think removing the port frees up? A phone isn't a magic cottage that's huge once you open it up. An extra 245 mAh is still a sizeable upgrade. It's 15 % more battery.

                          And can you tell me why you're talking about the Note 9? Recently you were talking about what you were able to add into a phone by removing the 3.5 mm port, which the change from the iPhone 6s to the iPhone 7 highlighted well. The Note 9 is irrelevant in that discussion.

                            Anonymous, 01 Sep 2018FYI We have android users who are audiophiles who use the h... moreI'm an "audiophile" in the sense that I appreciate great sound and spend plenty of money to have good speakers, amplifiers and headphones.

                            No blind tests have been able to show that any "audiophile" can hear a difference between 16-bit and 24-bit audio files, or 44.1 kHz and higher sample rates. As such, people who say they can only listen to FLAC are snobs, but are clueless to the reality of it. Higher sample rates can actually negatively impact the output sound, because it forces audio to be generated outside of our range of hearing, which can cause disconcordance with the audible range.

                            And another thing with mobile audio is that you're nearly never in a silent environment when you listen to music on your phone. You're either walking around, in which case you get to enjoy cable noise and noise from the surrounding environment, or you sit still and just get the noise around you. I'd much rather have the convenience of Bluetooth for those situations, and it's nearly impossible to distinguish the lower Bluetooth audio quality in those environments.

                              Anonymous, 01 Sep 2018Wireless charging is SLOWER and INCONVENIENT than normal wi... moreWireless charging is inconvenient to you? Literally putting your object down on a surface and walking away is inconvenient to you? I'm starting to think this comment section is eating Crazy Pills for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

                              USB-C headphones nearly always have built-in DAC/amps. The problem with USB-C headphones is that there aren't a whole lot of them yet. I also have no idea why you claim USB-C headphones have "poor audio quality". That alone tells me you don't really know how USB-C audio works.

                              And no, people actually had the same reaction to the removal of the 3.5" floppy disks when it was removed as people do now to the removal of the 3.5 mm port.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • tNw
                                • 01 Sep 2018

                                imRGZ, 01 Sep 2018Lol. Bigger Taptic Engine? It's just a home button with a f... moreAirpods were the tops seller at Apple Store. Followed by dongles/adapters.

                                Is it because they are good? Or because their previous accessories were made unusable due to courage? Lmao.

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                                  • imRGZ
                                  • DkQ
                                  • 01 Sep 2018

                                  FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018The first iPhone without the 3.5 mm port was the iPhone 7. ... moreLol. Bigger Taptic Engine? It's just a home button with a few additional tricks. Is it more worthier than having a bigger screen, battery and jack? Additional 245 mAh battery? Wow. It's soooo much. It's giving me two fulls days of backup! Wonder how little improvements look like a world changing for guys like you right? So you can't provide real advantages of removing jack, because there aren't any. A little taller phone Note9 packs more screen(0.9" bigger), battery(1375 mah more not just 245 mah) and an spen apart from the jack and weighs as heavy as an iPhone 8 Plus. See Apple's real competitor has just proved removing jack is just for money churning rather than any real world advantages.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • PGq
                                    • 01 Sep 2018

                                    Domestoboto, 01 Sep 2018WHAT STREAMING SERVICE ALLOWS YOU TO LISTEN AND DOWNLOAD TH... moreFYI We have android users who are audiophiles who use the headphone jack very often to listen to music and play games on their phones. They generally care about high quality codecs when purchasing a wired headphone with 3.5mm connectors. They generally do not want to associate or buy a headphone that needs a battery to be charged (can't use while charging, inconvenience is expected) when it is out of juice. And not forgetting, the poor audio quality.

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • PGq
                                      • 01 Sep 2018

                                      FinnishInquisition, 01 Sep 2018There is already a huge selection of Bluetooth headphones w... moreWireless charging is SLOWER and INCONVENIENT than normal wired charging unless wireless charging allows us to use them while charging for special occasions. It is not that we android users don't accept change. We feel that replacing the headphone jack with Bluetooth / Wireless headphones simply does not make sense and just "feed" money into tech companies pockets without caring about us users. A Type C headphone simply is not good for us as they generally do not come with a DAC and has poor audio quality (better than Bluetooth / Wireless) than 3.5mm connectors. This is NOT the same unlike the transition from floppy disk to CD era which we accept because floppy disk is really slower than CD in general. Another example is USB C port for charging and syncing which evolved from microUSB. At least tech companies like Samsung for example gives us USB converters to help us connect to standard micro / USB devices.

                                        Mobilemaster, 31 Aug 2018I am not sure if this is indeed a good idea. Today's Blueto... moreThere is already a huge selection of Bluetooth headphones with batteries lasting 24 hours or more. Even the 'worse' headphones typically last 6-8 hours.

                                        If only more manufacturers could go the wireless charging route, the issue of keeping everything topped up would disappear as well. You could just get a large Qi charging pad and put everything on it when you get home.

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