9to5Mac

AirPods Max beta confirms higher quality Bluetooth codec, here’s what that means for AirPods Pro 2

By José Adorno

Now, a developer was able to confirm that the AirPods Max beta can support a higher quality Bluetooth codec, which will, at least, improve Apple’s premium headphones’ voice calls quality and could preview the nicest features coming to AirPods Pro 2.

For those unfamiliar, the LC3 codec is Bluetooth’s future low-power and high-quality codec that will come soon to headphones.

The Low Complexity Communication Codec – LC3 for short – will be able to transmit at much lower bitrates without dropping the audio quality we currently see with Bluetooth’s standard.

In this case, as shown by the Twitter user, the LC3 codec will improve audio calls, making them sound better, but the true potential of this technology will need Bluetooth 5.2 and a new generation of AirPods hardware.

While the LC3 codec will improve audio calls, efficiency, and stability of Bluetooth devices, the requirements to take full advantage of this standard will require Bluetooth 5.2, which no AirPods has.

9to5Mac sources confirm that the next-generation AirPods Pro – codenamed B698 – will feature the next version of the H1 chip, Apple’s own audio processor, which could be able to handle this technology.