**Understanding Lossless Audio: The Latest Developments and Compatible Devices**

The world of audio has been abuzz with the latest developments on lossless audio, and it's essential to separate fact from fiction. In this article, we'll delve into what lossless audio is, its benefits, and which devices support this feature.

**What is Lossless Audio?**

Lossless audio refers to an audio format that retains its original quality after being compressed and decompressed. This means that the audio will be identical to the audio that was actually recorded by the artist. The technology behind lossless audio ensures that it preserves a lot of detail, sound quality, and other aspects of music that are often lost in traditional compression formats.

**Device Compatibility**

Apple has confirmed that lossless audio is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV devices. However, none of Apple's headphones support lossless audio, including the AirPods, AirPods Max, HomePod, and HomePod Mini. The entire AirPods lineup is limited to Bluetooth AAC codec and cannot support the ALAC format, even when connected by a physical wire.

**The Verge Report**

According to an article on The Verge, an Apple representative confirmed that when playing a 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless track from an iPhone using AirPods Max, and using both the Lightning cable and the Lightning dock, the audio is converted to analog and then re-digitized to 24-bit, 48 kHz. This means that while the source material can be considered identical, the final product will not be a pure lossless experience due to the conversion process.

**Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos**

The feature that's going to make a significant impact on the masses is spatial audio with Dolby Atmos. Apple has confirmed that this feature will be available on HomePod and AirPods devices with the H1 or W1 chip, as well as supported Beats headphones. The new Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature allows artists to record music that can sound like it's coming from all around you.

**Spatial Audio: A New Dimension**

Spatial audio is similar to how this feature works within supported Apple TV shows. It creates a more immersive experience by allowing the listener to pinpoint the source of sounds in 3D space. With Spatial Audio, artists will have new creative possibilities and listeners can expect a more engaging and realistic listening experience.

**OWC Thunderbolt Hub: A Workflow Enhancer**

Before we conclude today's article, let's talk about OWC, a company that's been making waves in the tech world with its innovative products. Their latest release is the OWC Thunderbolt Hub, which offers four Thunderbolt ports plus one USB port on new M1 Max and Thunderbolt 3-equipped Macs running macOS Big Sur.

**Pre-Order Now**

The OWC Thunderbolt Hub is now available for pre-order, and you can pick it up by clicking the link in the description below. This compact hub provides high-performance storage, including NVMe solutions, and makes your workflow more efficient with its ability to connect and charge any device with a USB-C or USB-A connector.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, lossless audio is an exciting development that's pushing the boundaries of what we can expect from our music listening experience. While not all devices support this feature yet, Apple has confirmed availability on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV devices. The Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature, on the other hand, promises to revolutionize the way we listen to music. And for those who need a workflow enhancer, the OWC Thunderbolt Hub is an excellent option.

**Your Thoughts Matter**

We'd love to hear your thoughts on lossless audio and its impact on our listening experience. Share your opinions in the comments below, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more informative content from MacRumors.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyesterday we made a quick video outlining the news that apple is planning to add lossless audio and spatial audio to apple music for apple music subscribers at no extra cost and that's going to be coming out next month now we didn't go too far in depth because well there was a lot of vague answers and misinformation floating around about how lossless audio can be played back and what devices would support this new feature i urge you all to check out the guide in the description down below as that will be constantly updated whenever new information comes out but let's just start right away with what devices are compatible and yes it is true apple's very expensive airpods macs do not support lossless audio but this isn't anything that people should be upset about or complaining about as far as we know there are no headphones that can play back lossless audio via bluetooth and airpods macs are bluetooth headphones the technology is just not there yet for those who need a very very brief refresher on what exactly lossless audio is after a track is compressed and then decompressed the audio will be identical to the audio that was actually recorded by the artist this will help preserve a lot of detail sound quality etc which just isn't the case with other music files other streaming services like title and amazon music offer a lossless tier and it's not a new concept by any means now according to apple lossless audio on apple music can be listened to on an iphone an ipad a mac and an apple tv none of apple's headphones however work with lossless audio nor does the homepod or homepod mini the entire airpods lineup is limited to bluetooth aac codec and simply cannot support the alac format even when connected by a physical wire the airpods max won't support true lossless audio it's not clear if alac support is something that apple can add in the future because technically bluetooth 5.0 should support higher bit rates nor is it known if apple plans to add support to future audio devices now according to an article on the verge an apple representative did say that when you play a 24 bit 48 kilohertz lossless track from an iphone using your airpods max and using both the lightning cable and the lightning dongle the audio is converted to analog and then re-digitized to 24-bit 48 kilohertz now because that track gets re-digitized is for that reason that apple cannot say you're hearing a pure lossless track the source will not be an identical match will it still sound incredible and probably much better than what you're used to yeah probably i mean i could be wrong i'm still pretty convinced that the vast majority of subscribers don't have the supported hardware to take advantage of pure lossless audio right now anyways and so this feature is more of a nice to have and for those who truly can take advantage of it and really are considered an audio file as for the homepod and homepod mini apple did confirm that lossless audio would not be available for those products but spatial audio will be and that's perhaps the feature that's going to be a bit more noticeable to the masses and that was also announced yesterday which is spatial audio with dolby atmos home pods all air pods and all beats headphones with apple's h1 or w1 chip will support the new spatial audio with dolby atmos feature automatically however any other headphones can support it once you've turned it on in your device's settings so in theory artists will be able to record music that can sound like it's coming from all around you it's similar to how this feature works within supported apple tv shows it's a pretty cool feature that if you haven't tried out with video you should definitely do that and i'm really looking forward to seeing how this version of spatial audio works with supported audio tracks of course i'd love to know your thoughts on everything in the comments down below and before we end today's video i do want to give you more information about today's sponsor owc owc is releasing its latest product the owc thunderbolt hub which is now available for new m1 max and all new thunderbolt 3 equipped macs that are running mac os big sur the owc thunderbolt hub offers the new thunderbolt hubbing technology which means you can have four thunderbolt ports plus one usb port on your new apple m1 mac apple intel mac with thunderbolt 3 or any thunderbolt 4 pc with this compact hub you can now connect and charge any device with a usbc or usb-a connector it supports up to two 4k displays or a single 5k 6k and even 8k display it adds high performance storage including nvme solutions and generally makes your workflow work for you by adding av mixers phone or tablet even desktop accessories all through one single thunderbolt port the owc hub is available for pre-order right now and you can pick one up by clicking the link in the description down below this has been dan with macrumers thanks so much for watching and i hope to see you around in the next videoyesterday we made a quick video outlining the news that apple is planning to add lossless audio and spatial audio to apple music for apple music subscribers at no extra cost and that's going to be coming out next month now we didn't go too far in depth because well there was a lot of vague answers and misinformation floating around about how lossless audio can be played back and what devices would support this new feature i urge you all to check out the guide in the description down below as that will be constantly updated whenever new information comes out but let's just start right away with what devices are compatible and yes it is true apple's very expensive airpods macs do not support lossless audio but this isn't anything that people should be upset about or complaining about as far as we know there are no headphones that can play back lossless audio via bluetooth and airpods macs are bluetooth headphones the technology is just not there yet for those who need a very very brief refresher on what exactly lossless audio is after a track is compressed and then decompressed the audio will be identical to the audio that was actually recorded by the artist this will help preserve a lot of detail sound quality etc which just isn't the case with other music files other streaming services like title and amazon music offer a lossless tier and it's not a new concept by any means now according to apple lossless audio on apple music can be listened to on an iphone an ipad a mac and an apple tv none of apple's headphones however work with lossless audio nor does the homepod or homepod mini the entire airpods lineup is limited to bluetooth aac codec and simply cannot support the alac format even when connected by a physical wire the airpods max won't support true lossless audio it's not clear if alac support is something that apple can add in the future because technically bluetooth 5.0 should support higher bit rates nor is it known if apple plans to add support to future audio devices now according to an article on the verge an apple representative did say that when you play a 24 bit 48 kilohertz lossless track from an iphone using your airpods max and using both the lightning cable and the lightning dongle the audio is converted to analog and then re-digitized to 24-bit 48 kilohertz now because that track gets re-digitized is for that reason that apple cannot say you're hearing a pure lossless track the source will not be an identical match will it still sound incredible and probably much better than what you're used to yeah probably i mean i could be wrong i'm still pretty convinced that the vast majority of subscribers don't have the supported hardware to take advantage of pure lossless audio right now anyways and so this feature is more of a nice to have and for those who truly can take advantage of it and really are considered an audio file as for the homepod and homepod mini apple did confirm that lossless audio would not be available for those products but spatial audio will be and that's perhaps the feature that's going to be a bit more noticeable to the masses and that was also announced yesterday which is spatial audio with dolby atmos home pods all air pods and all beats headphones with apple's h1 or w1 chip will support the new spatial audio with dolby atmos feature automatically however any other headphones can support it once you've turned it on in your device's settings so in theory artists will be able to record music that can sound like it's coming from all around you it's similar to how this feature works within supported apple tv shows it's a pretty cool feature that if you haven't tried out with video you should definitely do that and i'm really looking forward to seeing how this version of spatial audio works with supported audio tracks of course i'd love to know your thoughts on everything in the comments down below and before we end today's video i do want to give you more information about today's sponsor owc owc is releasing its latest product the owc thunderbolt hub which is now available for new m1 max and all new thunderbolt 3 equipped macs that are running mac os big sur the owc thunderbolt hub offers the new thunderbolt hubbing technology which means you can have four thunderbolt ports plus one usb port on your new apple m1 mac apple intel mac with thunderbolt 3 or any thunderbolt 4 pc with this compact hub you can now connect and charge any device with a usbc or usb-a connector it supports up to two 4k displays or a single 5k 6k and even 8k display it adds high performance storage including nvme solutions and generally makes your workflow work for you by adding av mixers phone or tablet even desktop accessories all through one single thunderbolt port the owc hub is available for pre-order right now and you can pick one up by clicking the link in the description down below this has been dan with macrumers thanks so much for watching and i hope to see you around in the next video\n"