HIGHLIGHTS
- For its most recent flagships, Google will increase the audio quality to lossless.
- By enabling music files to skip the standard audio processing pipeline, lossless USB audio will provide bit-perfect audio.
- Every instrument, every fine detail, and every vocal inflection will be audible to users with stunning clarity.
Google’s most recent flagship product is the Pixel 8 series. The Tensor G3 SoC, which powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, makes some significant advancements to the camera hardware and performance. Google is getting ready to introduce enhancements to its most recent flagships’ lossless audio quality in an effort to further improve the user experience.
Lossless audio may come to the Pixel 8 series
- Google’s vice president of engineering, Dave Burke, said that lossless USB audio will be available for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
- Music enthusiasts will soon be able to listen to their favorite songs in their most authentic form, without any quality degradation, which is really wonderful news.
- Burke says that lossless USB audio, which Mishaal Rahman discovered, will provide “bit perfect audio” by enabling music files to skip the standard audio processing pipeline.
The Pixel 8 series will add support for lossless USB audio in a future later release, according to Dave Burke in response to a comment from a Redditor.
Android 14 added support for lossless audio formats over USB wired headsets. pic.twitter.com/XYPyvIrzrc
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 12, 2023
How does lossless audio over USB be used?
The audio streams directly from your phone to headphones in its original, unaltered form rather than being compressed and manipulated. This will guarantee that users can clearly hear every instrument, delicate detail, and vocal inflection.
According to Burke, a future update to the Pixel 8 series and other Android phones will include support for lossless USB audio. To make the audio format available to users, app developers must implement the new API for lossless audio. According to rumors, Spotify will soon offer lossless audio.
Because lossless audio is more expensive and requires users to subscribe to premium services like Tidal and Apple Music, it hasn’t gained much traction. The difficulty in obtaining lossless audio files is another factor. Given that Google enabled OS-level support for this audio format over wired headphones with Android 14 Beta 2, the addition of lossless USB audio is not wholly unexpected.
