Android 9 Pie will support Qualcomm’s new aptX Adaptive for better Bluetooth audio

Ben Schoon | Aug 31 2018 - 7:45 am PT

As the headphone jack disappears, we’re all counting on wireless audio to fill the gap. Today, Qualcomm is announcing its latest way to make Bluetooth audio better, aptX Adaptive.

If you’ve purchased a relatively high-end pair of Bluetooth headphones in the past couple of years, chances are they support Qualcomm’s aptX. That technology is designed to improve the connection with lower latency, meaning your video and audio don’t get out of sync despite the wireless connection. With aptX Adaptive, Qualcomm is further improving this standard.

As Qualcomm explains in a press release, aptX Adaptive can adjust the connection based on surrounding factors, dynamically getting the best audio quality depending on the strength/interference of the RF signal. It can also adjust based on what the user is doing, providing better sync with the phone when playing games or watching versus what it would do while listening to music or a podcast.

Qualcomm also says that aptX Adaptive will be supported on smartphones and tablets running Android 9 Pie starting in December of this year.

Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. has launched Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive, a next-generation audio codec designed to be dynamically adjustable. This exciting addition to Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.’s premium audio portfolio combines enhancements in robustness, premium audio quality, scalability, low-latency and low-bit rate audio transmission to support a superb wireless listening user experience for today’s most popular and demanding applications including mobile gaming, watching video and music listening. aptX Adaptive technology is uniquely engineered to automatically adjust to provide optimum audio quality or latency depending on the type of content being played on the device while also taking into account the external RF environment to support a robust connection.