Bluetooth's New LE Audio Is Here to Fix Your Headphones

guest · Jan 6, 2020

The New Version of Bluetooth Is Here to Fix Your Headphones
Bluetooth’s new low-energy audio capabilities will save your battery and let you stream to multiple sources at once
January 6, 2020
https://www.wired.com/story/bluetooth-le-audio/

These enhancements will be rolled into Bluetooth as a set of features known as LE Audio. That LE stands for “low energy,” and the goal for the update is to allow a standard Bluetooth signal to better manage and share wireless audio streams between devices without overworking the batteries in your phone, your smartwatch, or your headphones.

If the name seems familiar, it’s because low-energy features have been enabled in Bluetooth since 2012.
As the name implies, LE Audio will allow devices to transmit sound streams across the low-energy spectrum, but it will do so using a new compression algorithm that maintains the same high audio quality you get from Bluetooth right now.

Multi-stream also enables someone to “broadcast” a Bluetooth signal.

“At airports, at gates and lounges, at sports bars and restaurants, at gymnasiums and waiting rooms—many of these locations now have televisions installed and they're largely silent,” Kolderup said. “Now imagine being able to walk into any of those locations and, from a standard headset, being able to scan for and tune in to the audio from one of those TVs.”
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"Ultimately, this now means that we can bring all those benefits of Bluetooth audio—calling and listening and watching and so forth—directly to hearing aids,” Kolderup said.
Kolderup says we should expect compatible products to emerge later in 2020, with the integration of LE Audio listening options in venues within the next three years or so.
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Bluetooth SIG: LE Audio - The next generation of Bluetooth audio

LE Audio is on Bluetooth Low Energy
As the names suggest, Classic Audio operates on the Bluetooth Classic radio while LE Audio operates on the Bluetooth Low Energy radio.
LE Audio is LC3
LE Audio will include a new high-quality, low-power audio codec, the Low Complexity Communications Codec (LC3).
LE Audio is Multi-Stream
Multi-Stream Audio will enable the transmission of multiple, independent, synchronized audio streams between an audio source device, such as a smartphone, and one or more audio sink devices.
LE Audio is Bluetooth Hearing Aids
Building on its low power, high quality and multi-stream capabilities, LE Audio adds support for Hearing Aids. Bluetooth audio has brought significant benefits to a large percentage of the global population.
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Bill_Bright · Jan 7, 2020

Another misleading headline by a wannabe journalist seeking attention.

The author's headline suggests this new BT feature-set will "fix" problems with your current headphones and other BT audio devices. Not necessarily true.

LE Audio is NOT backwards compatible. LE Audio does not replace the current BT radio signals. It coexists with the "Classic Audio", older radio signals. If you current devices don't support such "dual-band" type features, your current devices will not support LE Audio.

To take advantage of the new features, your current devices must support firmware flashing to begin with and then already have the necessary hardware to support the enhanced features. That probably is not a given. So you likely will need to buy new headphones that support the new features.

I might suggest reading instead, Bluetooth LE Audio promises superior sound quality and battery life to learn about this exciting new BT feature.

To be sure, this is not a criticism of BT or the new features (or of mood for bringing it to our attention). I note the official Bluetooth website makes no claim nor do they imply the new feature "fixes" (or will update to provide support) your current devices. This criticism is solely towards the poorly written, unprofessional, and misleading reporting by the author and his site for failing to do proper fact checking.

For the record, I strongly support the freedom of the press. But that means they should report the facts, not make up their own.

guest · Sep 23, 2020

Listen to Bluetooth’s low power, high quality LC3 codec coming soon to headphones
Meaning better battery life, or smaller earbuds
September 23, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/23/...ation-codec-lc3-power-efficient-audio-quality

Bluetooth SIG, the industry group in charge of defining the standard, has released a new audio codec that promises to make wireless headphones more power-efficient while improving sound quality. The Low Complexity Communication Codec, or LC3 for short, can transmit at much lower bitrates without as big a drop in audio quality as you see with Bluetooth’s standard, and much maligned, SBC codec. The development of the new codec was first announced back at CES 2020.

LC3 is just one of the new technologies coming as part of Bluetooth LE Audio, an umbrella term for a collection of new Bluetooth features that includes support for hearing aids and the ability to broadcast to an “unlimited” number of audio devices.
Apple and Qualcomm already support similar functionality with their own proprietary Bluetooth software, but now it’s becoming part of the Bluetooth SIG’s spec.
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The Bluetooth SIG says companies are already developing products using the new LC3 codec, and a Q&A posted on the site says these products should be available next year.
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trott3r · Sep 23, 2020

Not found any aptx adaptive supporting devices yet nevermind even newer stuff coming out

guest · Dec 16, 2020

Qualcomm's latest earbud chip is built for Bluetooth LE Audio
December 16, 2020
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/qualcomm-qcc305x-earbud-soc-bluetooth-le-audio-160053257.html

At CES in January, Bluetooth SIG announced a spin-off standard for for wireless sound called Bluetooth LE Audio (low-energy). The new framework allows two key features: native support for hearing aids and audio sharing.
Today, Qualcomm announced its QCC305x SoC, a true wireless earbud chip that’s properly equipped for Bluetooth LE Audio.

Indeed, the QCC305x brings a host of handy features to more true wireless earbud models, including LE Audio’s ability to share what’s playing to multiple users from the same device.

“Not only do our QCC305x SoCs bring many of our latest-and-greatest audio features to our mid-range truly wireless earbud portfolio, they are also designed to be developer-ready for the upcoming Bluetooth LE Audio standard,” Qualcomm’s voice, music and wearables vice president and general manager James Chapman explained.
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