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Google’s VP of Engineering has confirmed the company will bring lossless USB audio to the Pixel 8 series in a later release. The feature could significantly upgrade audio quality on Pixel 8 and Android devices.
Lossless audio is a digital format that came to Android with the Android 14 Beta 2 update. As Google’s VP of Engineering, Dave Burke, explains, lossless USB audio preserves the original audio quality and ensures “bit perfect audio” as it bypasses the audio mixer, processing effects, etc. The format is added on the OS level, and manufacturers and app developers must take the next step.
Burke added that the Pixel 8 series and other Android devices could get lossless audio in their hardware abstraction layer (HAL) in later releases. App developers should also adopt the new API to add lossless audio to their apps.
Lossless audio is coming to Pixel 8 series in later releases
It remains to be seen when Pixel 8 devices and other Android OEMs officially add support for lossless audio. But it shouldn’t take too long before you can listen to your favorite audio without quality loss. The exact schedule could be announced later.
The most significant advantage of lossless audio is it lets music move through your device to USB headphones uncompressed and unchanged. This means the music you hear is in its purest form and sounds very clear. Google says the lossless audio feature is designed for “audiophile-level experiences over USB wired headsets.”
Apple has already developed its lossless audio technology, dubbed Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), now available to Apple Music users. Android users currently need to rely on DAC (digital-to-analog converter) to use this former. However, with the later releases, the feature comes to your device by default.
The music streaming apps are expected to be at the forefront of adopting lossless audio API. Spotify is already spotted working on lossless audio. However, the feature could be part of the “Supremium” tier, which costs $19.99 monthly. The new tier also offers up to 20 hours of audiobook listening.