iPhone 14 and New AirPods Pro Support Bluetooth 5.3, Status of LE Audio Unclear

[Maxis]

This!

The Most important thing you should be able to do with a phone (still) is making phone calls.

Apple didn’t mention or have not shown any info about phone calls’ noise cancellation. That’s really sad actually. Iphone itself makes decent job but AirPods just suck what comes to background noise cut processing for input.

Plantronics are a good comparison. The mic’s noise cancellation is awesome ( but they are ugly as hell ).

I think that people at Apple aren’t very talkative and here’s the result.

Any details about call quality ? I’ve had three pairs of the current AirPods Pro and, unless I’m in a quiet environment, callers all say “the sound quality is really bad”. If I switch to using the handset or normal AirPods, there is no problem, the call quality is fine. I’ve tried all the tricks, changing settings, different phones, nothing fixes it. In my experience, AirPods Pro are terrible for phone calls. Hope the new ones fix this.

 

[syklee26]

It’s still the best BT codec for music.

Far from it. Aptx Adaptive (or HD) are better.

 

[iBug2]

Far from it. Aptx Adaptive (or HD) are better.

Yes but they are not part of the codecs that are being discussed here. Not to mention they all come with faster battery drains. And kudos to anyone who can hear the difference between Aptx and AAC256 on a BT earbud.

 

[hexagenia]

Does anyone know if Bluetooth 5.3 is backwards compatible with Bluetooth 4.0 devices?

 

[mcnaugha]

I don’t quite understand why LC3 keeps being measured against SBC. AirPods have always used the AAC Bluetooth codec because SBC is barely better than listening to the hold music on a call. The pertinent question is, does LC3 deliver any quality or technical improvement over AAC, or should we predict that Apple will move directly to some other solution like an AirPlay-based structure?

(Edited because my original text was essentially asked and answered by post above)

The fact that LC3 is intended to replace/supersede SBC doesn’t really relate to AAC. AAC was always on a tier above. LC3 isn’t really for listening to music at its best. It’s mainly for call Audio. Does Apple use AAC for call audio? I’m not sure they do. AAC encoding would be a much larger drain on battery.

Anyone who keeps saying AAC is the best audio codec is either an Apple fan boy or has no experience of the other possibilities. AAC is akin to Standard Definition TV versus 4K streaming That you get with LDAC, LHDC, aptX Adaptive/Lossless and probably LC3plus.

I’m disappointed Apple has yet to introduce some kind of codec that supports at least 24-bit/96KHz audio sources. I was hoping for something like Wi-Fi HaLow being implemented to transport ALAC bit-for-bit. That would have blown the top of the audiophile world. True High Resolution Lossless. That would have made the AirPods Pro more than just an Apple fan boy toy For those that haven’t a clue about how music should and can sound. Unless they offer LC3plus or better at some point, I won’t be buying them. I’ve got NuraTrue Pro’s on the way and I guess I’ll just have to stay in iPhone dongle hell a little longer.

 

[Macalway]

I just came to this thread researching the AirPods Pro 2.

The difference in latency with LE is substantial: it goes from around 400ms all the way down to 20ms (BT 5.3 LE)

I would like to know what is going on here exactly. Of course, Apple confuses everything, by actually understating specs , which is sort of unbelievable, but wtf.

 

[sjinsjca]

For me the issue is hearing aid (or in my case, cochlear implant) compatibility.

My implant processors (Cochlear Nucleus 7) can stream directly from an iPhone, which is utterly wonderful. On the other hand, my Series 5 Watch requires an intermediary streaming device, as do my 2018-vintage MacBook Pro, my Kindle, and other generic Bluetooth devices. Having to use a streamer gizmo is annoying. Lack of direct streaming compatibility with my Watch is the last reason I must carry my iPhone everywhere.

My hope is that the new Watches, or at least the Ultra with its BT 5.3 compatibility and which is the model I'd be interested-in anyway, will incorporate at least the same connectivity to my ear gear that my elderly iPhone 12 Pro does. I'm no expert, but from reading it seems that BT ≥5.2 and "LE Audio" support (which, per other reading, is actually required for 5.2 or 5.3 certification, and one article I encountered contends "LE Audio" is just another name for BT5.2) is what is required.

I might stop by an Apple Store and see if I can make a Watch Ultra stream directly to my ear gear... insta-sale if so. If anyone reading this has perspective, please share!

 

[AdriftAtlas]

My implant processors (Cochlear Nucleus 7) can stream directly from an iPhone, which is utterly wonderful. On the other hand, my Series 5 Watch requires an intermediary streaming device, as do my 2018-vintage MacBook Pro, my Kindle, and other generic Bluetooth devices.

What does the iPhone support that enables streaming directly? I don't have a hearing aid but am genuinely curious. I do think that companies should take accessibility seriously.

 

[K4sk4d3]

My guess why Apple isn’t doing anything with BT 5.3 yet.... up to iPhone 13, all had only BT 5.0

Apple is ballsy with some of their decisions. But alienating a large portion of the user base;
Buy this years phone to enjoy better quality, despite that we could have put BT 5.3 in our last years phone;
I guess that was too ballsy for them.