What is aptX HD and which devices support it?

Over the past few years, smartphones have moved away from wired headphones by removing the 3.5mm headphone port, which used to be a mainstay feature. That meant wireless technology had to get better and – as always with any wireless tech advancement – Qualcomm was at the forefront. 

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Previously, when relying on Bluetooth for audio, that often meant a dip in audio quality. Bluetooth, until relatively recently, was useless at transferring high amounts of data in good time. 

That’s where aptX HD comes in, it’s a technology designed to improve the quality of your music when streamed wirelessly. But how does it work and which devices support it? Allow us to explain.

What is aptX HD?

aptX HD is an evolution of aptX. aptX is a lot more common than the HD derivative, so there’s a good chance you’ve already heard of it. It’s been around since the 1980s but is now owned by Qualcomm, the manufacturer of the Snapdragon processing chips that are found in the majority of Android smartphones.

aptX is able to transmit your music in ‘CD-like’ 16-bit/44.1kHz quality, but because it’s compressed, it can’t technically be classed as “CD-quality”. The compression is there to help keep latency at an absolute minimum when transmitted wirelessly to headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.

If you want better quality sound over Bluetooth then you need aptX HD. The new technology was launched in 2016 to offer higher quality streaming and it can support high-definition audio up to 24-bit/48kHz. Qualcomm says it offers “better-than-CD” sound quality and can even enhance the sound of standard resolution music files.

aptX HD has also been designed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, meaning you should be able to hear even the most intricate of details in the songs you listen to.

Which devices support aptX HD?

In order to take advantage of the benefits of aptX HD, you’ll need to make sure you have a device that supports it. These devices will have the CSR8675 Bluetooth audio system-on-chip (SoC) as it’s capable of supporting 24-bit audio from end-to-end.

When aptX HD first launched, not many devices supported it, but now more manufacturers are getting onboard with higher quality streaming. In fact, if you head over to this list on Qualcomm’s website, there are now more than 280 products on the market, ranging from smartphones and media players to headphones and amps. 

You’ll find a list of smartphones below. It’s by no means extensive, but there are lots of popular Android phones on there. 

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Smartphones

Asus ROG Phone 3Asus ZenFone 5, 5 Lite and 5zAsus ZenFone 7 and 7 ProGoogle Pixel 3aGoogle Pixel 3a XLHuawei P30Huawei P30 ProHuawei Mate 20 Pro
LG G7 ThinQLG G8 ThinQLG V60 ThinQMotorola Moto Z2 ForceMotorola Moto Z3 + Z3 PlayMotorola Moto G100 and G50Motorola Moto X4Nokia 8.3Nokia X10Nokia X20OnePlus 6TOnePlus 7 OnePlus 7 Pro
OnePlus 8 and 8 ProOnePlus 8TOnePlus Nord, Nord N10 and N100Sony Xperia XZ3Sony Xperia 5 and 5ii Sony Xperia 1 and 1iiSony Xperia 10ii Xiaomi Mi 9Xiaomi Pocophone F1

For the full list of support smartphones, old and new, check out the page on aptx.com. 

Headphones

1More Stylish BT ProAIAIAI H05 and TMA-2Audio Technica ATH-DSR9BTAudio Technica ATH-DSR5BTBowers & Wilkins PX WirelessBeyerdynamic Aventho WirelessBeyerdynamic Xelento WirelessBowers & Wilkins PX, PX5 and PX7Denon AH-GC25W and AH-GC30LG Tone PlatinumMeters OV-1BNuraphoneNuraphone NuraloopOnePlus Bullets Wireless 2PSB M4U 8Sony WH-1000MX2Sony WH-1000MX3V-Moda M200 ANCVOX VH-Q1Yamaha YH-E500A

Check out the full list on aptx.com. 

Portable Music Players

Astell & Kern KannAstell & Kern AK320Astell & Kern AK380Astell & Kern AK300Astell & Kern AK70Astell & Kern AK70 MKIIAstell & Kern A&UltimataFiio M6Sony Walkman NW-A40Sony Walkman NW-ZX300

Hi-Fi Components

Astell & Kern XB10Bluewave Audio Get Wireless Hi-Fi AmplifierDali Callisto speaker systemInateck BR1006 Bluetooth receiverNaim Uniti CoreNaim Uniti AtomNaim Uniti NovaNaim Uniti StarRuark Audio R5

To find out more about Qualcomm aptX HD and to keep up to date with all the devices that support the platform, head to the official aptX website.