From the specs it looks like the FP 4 doesn’t have Qualcomm’s Bluetooth SoC to support aptX HD. I don’t even want a 3.5" headphone port, but if wireless is the default (using a USB-C to audio dongle is not an option, because a quality DAC doesn’t fit in such a small space), they should give me the best possible codec.
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I emailed their support with this question as well. Their answer was that they do provide AAC. But I’m not sure if that covers everything. AptX also does clever audio syncing tricks, right?
The SoC does have support for aptX, which makes it a bit odd.
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FP3(+) didn’t have it either (only SBC and AAC), while the SoC could’ve had it. I guess they don’t wanna pay Qcomm for the AptX (HD) tax (the license). From what I gathered via samples, I wasn’t impressed with AptX (HD) though. Same with LDAC.
Btw if you are using a Linux distribution, PulseAudio and PipeWire can be made to work with these codecs.
What about YouTube videos and games, are they in sync on a FP3? I’ve been led to believe that aptX fixes the latency with bluetooth. As in that with bluetooth the sound and video is perfectly in sync, like with a wired connection. If so, and AAC has the same or better quality, then I won’t miss aptX.
I don’t watch YouTube for videos on my smartphone, but I do use Netflix. Its in sync. Yes, some codecs are lower latency. But for Netflix, it doesn’t matter, as it delays the video slightly to get in sync with the used codec. So you do notice the latency with a phone call, but its minor.
I guess it matters most with competitive real-time gaming. 200 ms is a lot for that.
See this blog post for an explanation: H. Mijail's Blog: Bluetooth audio latency, codecs, when does it matter
AptX HD isn’t good latency either, btw. You’d have to have AptX Adaptive or normal AptX (AptX LL got deprecated, replaced by Adaptive).
In the future perhaps we see LC3 more in use.
Anyway, different codecs are for different purposes, and I agree with you lack of AptX is a downside.
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I use a DAC (audioquest dragonfly red) with a usb-usbC connector and the music experience with headasets Marshall Major III Is simply magnificent with the (full payment) poweramp.
The audio codec un FP3 is better than I expected… If you go hihger in snapdragon family It should be at least the same.
I had a real surprise with the quality that comes out in WAV-FLAC format from FP3… Looking forward to having in hands the FP4!
Cheers!!
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