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Windows 10 Gaining Improved Audio Support for AirPods in Future Update

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The next major update for Windows 10 later this year will include improved support for Apple's line of AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones and earbud speakers.

windows-10.jpg

In a blog post, Microsoft says it is planning to add support for AAC, or Advanced Audio Coding for Bluetooth devices, which will offer improved audio quality for AirPods, iTunes, and Apple Music users. Windows currently only supports SBC codec and aptX for Bluetooth devices.
Enjoy premium audio streaming quality wirelessly on your Bluetooth headphones and speakers with AAC codec. Short for Advanced Audio Codec, AAC is a lossy codec that delivers high quality audio streaming in smaller files – great for listening to music online.
Click to expand...
Alongside AAC support, the Windows 10 update will make it easier to select Bluetooth headphones, speakers, and earbuds from the Windows bar. As Microsoft describes:
No more clicking through multiple audio endpoints to make your Bluetooth headset's voice and mic work properly. We now only expose one audio endpoint in the UI and will switch to the correct one automatically for you for a seamless experience. Listening to Spotify and then have to hop onto a Teams call? You can also now directly control the volume of your headset
Click to expand...
The new features, accompanied with bug fixes and improvements, will be available to all Windows 10 users later this year. However, members of the Windows Insider program can receive a beta with the new additions with the latest build.

Article Link: Windows 10 Gaining Improved Audio Support for AirPods in Future Update
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/04/30/windows-10-update-improved-airpods-support/
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That's great! Unfortunately, both MacOS and Windows 10 suffers from the limitations of SBC where if you're on a Teams call or Zoom, having the audio output and mic output to your headphones/AirPods will result in 1950s phone call quality since it can't do both. Something the BT consortium really needs to fix. Fortunately, Zoom has gotten pretty clever with this and will connect the audio output to your AirPods and use the mic of your Macbook in order to maintain the highest quality possible.
 
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I wonder when they will add in support to OSX.

Everyday multiple disconnects, or connects where OSD refuses to then send audio to them.
 
About time! I’d like to enjoy this sooner to be honest, I was going to install W10 on a bootcamp partition, now I don’t know whether I should wait until this version is available
 
Funny, just yesterday I was wondering if I could use my AirPods with my work PC for Teams meetings. Looks like early next year for my work machine (takes a while for patches to get approved unless they’re for 0-days).
 
I tell you what I hate - that smart switching between devices. It’s anything but smart. Glad to see some windows support coming because I struggled getting them working on W10.
 
Hopefully they fix their security holes in that OS too... Oh wait, there's an entire industry built by the fact that Microsoft software is insecure...
 
The only headset I use with my Windows laptop for Teams and Zoom is a wired Plantronics C610.

I might give BT another shot, but it's been hit and miss and when I'm presenting to a large group, I want electrons on a wire and to be heard on the other end.

I'll be ordering the 14" MBP when it is available, but I'm not an AirPod guy. Will have to see if the C610 plays nicely with the MacBook.
 
Are these earbuds equipped with a Bluetooth signal?
if so, they should just work like any other blue tooth device?
unless the functions like mute volume, control and next song don't work on Windows10

-that's all!
 
Imory said:
That's great! Unfortunately, both MacOS and Windows 10 suffers from the limitations of SBC where if you're on a Teams call or Zoom, having the audio output and mic output to your headphones/AirPods will result in 1950s phone call quality since it can't do both. Something the BT consortium really needs to fix. Fortunately, Zoom has gotten pretty clever with this and will connect the audio output to your AirPods and use the mic of your Macbook in order to maintain the highest quality possible.
Click to expand...
It seems macOS has a hard time switching to AAC in some situations. I'm not exactly sure why; it may be a hardware limitation with my aging MacBook Pro. I get much better audio quality on my iPhone than on my Mac.

(Yes, I've tried various defaults write incantations and the Bluetooth Explorer utility.)
 
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So, I guess this means the 21H2 release? 21H1 (really a minor update) is releasing on May 11 (Patch Tuesday), and will appear like a monthly update, in Windows Update.
 
shadowmatt said:
I wonder when they will add in support to OSX.

Everyday multiple disconnects, or connects where OSD refuses to then send audio to them.
Click to expand...
It’s probably why you’re getting disconnects because you’re using “OS X” and not MacOS. 😉
 
Finally. It's so frustrating to use my AirPods with my work PC. So confusing to setup audio and having to jump through hoops to connect each time.
 
Awesome, I often use my Airpods with my gaming PC.

Though now I guess I have to sit down and figure out why Windows Update is completely FUBAR'd on my computer.
 
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