Sony gives Android O sound quality boostMarch 22, 2017 - 12:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Google just announced Android O and revealed a preliminary list of features and changes that consumers should start seeing on phones this fall. The update doesn’t sound earth shattering at this (very) early stage, but among the surprising tidbits is just how much work Android partners are putting in to help improve the overall OS, The Verge said. The standout, according to Google, is Sony Mobile. Sony has so far “contributed more than 30 feature enhancements and 250 bug fixes,” a Google spokesperson said. Chief among Sony’s priorities seems to be helping Android become a better platform for wirelessly enjoying high-res audio. Or at least something close to it, and substantially better than what Bluetooth does right now. Sony has contributed its LDAC wireless audio coding technology to Android O. LDAC can transfer much more data over Bluetooth — up to a bitrate of 990kbps — than what’s typically possible from smartphones. Here’s one explainer from Sony, and here’s another. Unlike other Bluetooth compatible coding technologies such as SBC, it operates without any down-conversion of the Hi-Res Audio content, and allows approximately three times more data than those other technologies to be transmitted over a Bluetooth wireless network with unprecedented sound quality, by means of efficient coding and optimized packetization. LDAC is already built into Sony’s expensive Walkman players, its high-end wireless headphones (like the excellent noise-cancelling MDR-1000x), Sony-branded wireless speakers, and Xperia smartphones. But now other Android phone makers will be able to wirelessly transit higher quality audio using LDAC to speakers and headphones that have the technology included. This stands to mostly benefit Sony’s own products right now, since no one else is using LDAC and would likely have to pay a licensing fee to put it in a speaker or wireless headphones. It’s free to integrate into mobile devices, as Google confirmed LDAC is now part of the Android AOSP base code. Will LDAC matter to most consumers listening to music on a $99 Bluetooth speaker? Nope. But as music services continue to push into lossless and high-resolution streaming (Spotify’s experimenting with it right now), this sort of thing will help audiophiles enjoy much improved audio without having to plug into the headphone jack — if their phone even has one. That’ll still be necessary for true 24-bit/96kHz listening, but this is a decent step up until Bluetooth 5 makes it out the door, The Verge said. Photo: Sony Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |