AirPods Max to Gain Lossless Audio and Low-Latency Audio in iOS 18.4

[DaniTheFox]

More questions. It certainly doesn't require *Apple's* C-to-C cable. What cable is needed, can it be one that supports USB 2.0 data speeds (480mbps — even with the limitations, seems like it should be adequate for lossless audio) or is a "better" one required?

Will USB-C audio work with any other (non-Apple) devices? Can I plug it into a Nintendo Switch, for example, which supports USB-C headphones?

Doubt we'll know about that until the update is out and people have a chance to experiment.

To my understanding, there are several USB-C cables available, starting with four wires. These cables are suitable for delivering 4.5W of power and are likely used with toothbrushes. It is possible that you already have one of these cables.
The next type of cable has an additional wire for USB-PD communication. While some inexpensive cables may resemble this design, Apple typically includes a cable with two more wires for USB-C 2.0. This configuration is sufficient for audio and USB-C 2.0. Additionally, the Thunderbolt device has four more wires.

 

[jjudson]

Tidal’s research has suggested that lossless is increasingly important the worse the recording is.

It's nonsense like this that I don't even bother with Apple Music or playing anything out of my iPhone. For me, Tidal does what I want, and I pump it through a Fiio M11 Plus LTD into Meze Rai Penta earphones. Otherwise, I'll use Sony WF-1000XM5 with LDAC. Hi rez, loseless, and been that way for years. On my home system, I just connect to Tidal through HEOS.

It's Apple's way it seems to wait forever to give their customers the same thing everyone else has been doing for years, and even then Apple only gives just a little and not the whole thing...

 

[ISignedUpToAskThis]

Can anyone clarify....

- If we were to connect APMs to a recent iPhone (15 Pro onwards), does the iPhone have a suitable internal DAC or does it not require one for Lossless? I know all of the recent Apple silicon macs have an internal DAC.

- To connect to an iPhone, will a suitable USB-C to USB-C cable be enough or will it need to be a 3.5mm -> USB-C cable?

 

[no_idea]

• Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will be available in April as a free firmware update with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 for AirPods Max with USB-C.

Really apple? It's the same thing as the lightning version, why are you limiting it????

Gotta drive the upgrades somehow 😃

 

[alchemistmuffin]

Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio will be available in April as a free firmware update with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 for AirPods Max with USB-C.
Really apple? It's the same thing as the lightning version, why are you limiting it????

I really hope that will work for both Lightning and USB-C models as literally nothing changes. But then knowing Apple 😏

They've confirmed in the blogpost it's USB-C models only sadly.

Unfortunately this is ONLY FOR USB-C models only. Reason: AirPods Max with USB-C has updated H1 chip that allows for lossless and low latency audio, as well as higher bandwidth that USB-C cable can provide compared to Lightning.

So yes, unfortunately this is hardware limitation so there is no way to get it working on AirPods Max with Lightning.

That being said, DO NOT BUY new AirPods Max now. New version is supposed to be coming soon alongside new AirPods Pro 3 this fall, from industrial rumor mill.

 

[applezulu]

With the USB-C cable offered by Apple, the original source of the music, the audio out jack of the source, is analog and must be converted to digital to travel USB-C. It is still a technical limitation. Until there is a true digital path, from the music source be it online or from digital media, any conversion to any other format will introduce losses.

Or does the USB-C in the AirPods, with the Apple cable, carry an analog signal all the way?

Even so, the original source output to the cable is analog.

TELARC produces some of the best CD's for music. The recording is done with digital equipment through the entire path to production of the CD. There is no clipping on their CDs and listening to an orchestra playing one can sometimes hear the turning of a page of music. Unlike the hip-hop crap today where compression, clipping, and general distortion is the norm.

This is an amusingly 1985 observation. I mean, Telarc absolutely did make the gold standard of CDs back in the day. Forty years later, and near about all new recordings are "done with digital equipment through the entire path to production of the CD," (or other digital file format) until your final digital to analog converter (DAC) sends a signal out to make your speakers wobble. This is true even of the "crap" you don't like.

As far as the updated AirPods Pro are concerned, the update means that when the headphones are connected by a USB-C to USB-C cable to a Mac, iPhone or iPad, lossless digital audio will be delivered all the way to the headphones, where a DAC will convert the signal and make the speakers in the headphones wobble. The new USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable that Apple is also releasing would enable the headphones to be connected to an analog source, which would be converted to lossless digital in the cable and sent to the headphones, where that signal would be converted back to a final analog signal needed to make the speakers wobble.

 

[ISignedUpToAskThis]

That being said, DO NOT BUY new AirPods Max now. New version is supposed to be coming soon alongside new AirPods Pro 3 this fall, from industrial rumor mill.

What's the source for this? I know there are strong rumors about AirPods Pro 3, but I've heard nothing about new APMs this year. Also, if that was the case, surely they would leave this until then - Lossless is pretty much the number one requested feature (aside from longer battery life) - surely they'd wait the next generation to introduce it as a reason for people to buy them?

 

[DaniTheFox]

It also means the cable in the box isn’t a charge cable but is a data cable. I guess if we had paid attention to that at the time this could’ve been predicted.

Most high-quality USB-C cables (excluding those specifically designed for toothbrushes) are equipped with at least a dedicated pair of wires for USB 2.0 connectivity.
So Apple is not that „cheap“.

 

[ISignedUpToAskThis]

Just read the Apple press release.

So the included USB-C to USB-C cable will work.

There's also a photo of an iPhone playing a Lossless format track through Apple Music, implying the iPhone doesn't require an external DAC?

So we'll be able to connect AirPods Max to an iPhone with the charging cable without requiring anything else. Cool.

 

[0049190]

I’m confused. I thought they already supported lossless audio.

 

[raythompsontn]

lossless digital audio will be delivered all the way to the headphones

The headphone jack, I believe, is analog. No company in their right mind is going to allow a full digital output of a digital stream so that the digital stream could be recorded. The initial XM Radios provided that feature and it was quickly squashed.

near about all new recordings are "done with digital equipment through the entire path to production of the CD," (or other digital file format) until your final digital to analog converter (DAC) sends a signal out to make your speakers wobble. This is true even of the "crap" you don't like.

Have you ever looked at a digital stream? Notice the compression. Notice the cutoff of the bitstream at the high volumes. Yes, Telarc may have been 1985, but it was quality as opposed to the mixing and production of today. Where loudness seems to be the underlying purpose. Distortion, intentionally introduced, to hide the lousy mixing of the final track.

Yes, the mixing is digital. The initial source is still analog, the final output is analog. It is the process in between those two points that is producing really lousy mixes full of distortion. Digital distortion caused by clipping is much more annoying that analog distortion. Telarc avoided the digital distortion that is so prevalent in the music industry of today.

 

[spaxxedout]

WHAT.

Did not have this on my bingo card. Wow.

…

Editing this post to add the attachment: it appears that lossless requires the use of a USB-C to USB-C cable (included).

@MacRumors may want to reach out to Apple for confirmation because the way it’s worded it seems to imply the update is going to enable this wirelessly which doesn’t seem to be the case.

I read the press release three times with the same issue. Yes, USB-C to USB-C is needed. H2 to H2 is needed for wireless (like Vision Pro and APP2), and these have H1's.

Oddly enough, the Beats Studio Pro's have usb lossless and head-tracking, but weren't capable of doing both at the same time.

Needless to say, it's been a long time since a MacRumors article left me speechless. This is a very big deal and I'm really excited. Ordering a pair now (and glad I didn't get a used lightning pair).

 

[guzhogi]

Pretty disappointing to finally get high res audio after all these years, and only 48 KHz and not the full 192 supported by some songs.

 

[DblHelix]

WHAT.

Did not have this on my bingo card. Wow.

…

Editing this post to add the attachment: it appears that lossless requires the use of a USB-C to USB-C cable (included).

@MacRumors may want to reach out to Apple for confirmation because the way it’s worded it seems to imply the update is going to enable this wirelessly which doesn’t seem to be the case.

So only the usb version? Any word on why the lightning version can’t support this? Not too happy spent so much money on a virtually unchanged device that won’t get it.

 

[CalMin]

Interesting- not a single person on this forum will be able to tell the difference despite vehemently claiming they can though.

Yeah - this was me in my younger days. I used to spend $$$ on gold-plated interconnects and other audiophile crap, but these days there comes a point at which I can't tell. I mean there's bad audio and there's good audio. From good to great is something that I can no longer discern. And that's the case for me with lossless audio.

In the past I've ripped CDs as FLAC, but now I just stream AAC over bluetooth with Apple Music and I just can't tell any difference at all. Or rather, I don't look for any differences - I just enjoy the music. Back in the day I used to listen to songs on an AM radio - and I still enjoyed the music!

 

[tennisproha]

if I'm reading this right, it's only when wired via USBC, not wireless lossless, right?

 

[Chancha]

You can look at the end of the cable to tell — the 3.5mm connector only has two bands which means it has two channels (left ear and right ear), if it supported headset/mic input then it would have three bands.

So, no. Audio output only. No microphone signal going back.

The plug not being TRRS only means it cannot use those "combo" jack that was on older iPhones and Macs. It may still be able to route to an actual line level / mic level stereo input.

That new 3.5mm to type-C cable product page already says the cable is bi-directional, meaning it can do the above. But it is unclear if the AirPods Max itself can do that. But yea if it does, it means you can only chose either input or output, not both at the same time.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I really have to ask: does this lossless playback also apply to any headphone connected to the USB Type C port, or is it an AirPods Max exclusive due to the decoding on the headphone itself?

 

[novagamer]

Pretty disappointing to finally get high res audio after all these years, and only 96 KHz and not the full 192 supported by some songs.

The difference between lossless and high-res is very very small. I have no hearing loss (regularly go to the audiologist, I am adjacent to the pro audio world) and I can hear a difference but it is really small. Also this isn’t even 96, it’s 48 at 24 bit.

For me on speakers it takes about $15,000 worth of equipment to hear the benefits of high res masters. I can notice it a bit more easily on headphones but it is still nothing like the jump from non-lossless to lossless.

I wouldn’t complain about having the option but the amount of music recorded and mastered the whole way through at 192 is pretty small. If there are physical instruments I generally only track guitar amp sims at that level and then reduce down to 96 or 88.2 for my projects. If you’re using synth VSTs it’s useful depending on the plugin to record higher so you get less aliasing. although most of the better ones do internal oversampling, sometimes up to 8x.

A lot of the “high res” audio being sold was just lower bitrate saved higher later on. Not all of it, but a lot. This was kind of a scandal back when the Pono player was a thing.

 

[DblHelix]

I really have to ask: does this lossless playback also apply to any headphone connected to the USB Type C port, or is it an AirPods Max exclusive due to the decoding on the headphone itself?

This update is just to allow AirPod max to support it. The usb-c port will send out up to 24/192 and other headphones if they support it will accept it. I can send it to my dac usb-c to usb-c

 

[SactoGuy18]

This update is just to allow AirPod max to support it. The usb-c port will send out up to 24/192 and other headphones if they support it will accept it. I can send it to my dac usb-c to usb-c

I see (kind of). So it's really dependent on the DAC on the USB Type C port headphone?

I still think Apple is looking at using UWB to transmit Apple Lossless to a wireless headphone, given UWB's much wider data bandwidth than even Bluetooth 6.0.

 

[newton4000]

Yeah - this was me in my younger days. I used to spend $$$ on gold-plated interconnects and other audiophile crap, but these days there comes a point at which I can't tell. I mean there's bad audio and there's good audio. From good to great is something that I can no longer discern. And that's the case for me with lossless audio.

In the past I've ripped CDs as FLAC, but now I just stream AAC over bluetooth with Apple Music and I just can't tell any difference at all. Or rather, I don't look for any differences - I just enjoy the music. Back in the day I used to listen to songs on an AM radio - and I still enjoyed the music!

I have lossless headphones, and I can certainly hear the difference, especially for classical music. Huge difference for me. I'm sure use cases vary. For instance, I cannot for the life of me see any difference with promotion and couldn't care less about it, but some people do. I don't discount their ability to do so.

 

[one more]

Well done; I wonder what took them so long, considering that Beats Solo 4 had this from day 1.

 

[PotentPeas]

I see (kind of). So it's really dependent on the DAC on the USB Type C port headphone?

I still think Apple is looking at using UWB to transmit Apple Lossless to a wireless headphone, given UWB's much wider data bandwidth than even Bluetooth 6.0.

USB has plenty of bandwidth for uncompressed (lossless) audio. USB audio DACs that can handle this have been around for almost 30 years. The only new thing here is Apple finally allowing AirPods Max to accept audio input via USB.

...With the news today, I've been trying to order a set of AirPods Max from Best Buy but they keep cancelling my order! I'll have to stop by in person later and see what's up. (I'd buy from Apple directly, but I would prefer to have the 12-month financing that Best Buy offers...)

 

[dtuck90]

The RC for 18.4 is out. Downloading now. Will see if this works or if we need to have a firmware update for the AirPods as well