Qualcomm's high-res Bluetooth audio codec aptX HD is now on over 60 devices

By Tom Westrick
last updated

Bowers & Wilkins PX
Bowers & Wilkins PX (Image credit: Android Central)

As more and more manufacturers turn towards ditching the headphone jack, more and more users are turning to Bluetooth headphones and speakers to get their jam on. This used to mean compressed, horrible sounding music, but no so: with features like aptX, your songs sound much better than they used to with older headphones.

The latest version of the aptX codec family is aptX HD, and at CES 2018 Qualcomm shared that over 60 products were on the market with support for the codec. Manufacturers with devices with aptX HD include:

Wondering if your device supports aptX HD? Qualcomm has the full list on its site. From Qualcomm:

At CES® 2018, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), today announced its high definition Bluetooth® wireless audio codec, Qualcomm® aptX™ HD, is now available on more than 60 products, meaning consumers and audiophiles now have more options than ever to access and enjoy premium HD sound with the support of our technology.aptX HD is an enhanced codec that supports 24-bit music quality over Bluetooth and has been engineered to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in lower background noise. This improved technology helps listeners to hear even the smallest details in their music and is designed to provide realistic audio quality that is hard to distinguish from the actual live sound produced by the musician."We helped to revolutionize the Bluetooth stereo listening experience with aptX, which is designed to vastly improve the quality of music delivered over a Bluetooth connection and the aptX logo on a package represents this proven quality. Now with aptX HD we are helping to meet growing demand for high resolution audio from consumers looking for even higher levels of sound quality from their devices," said Jonny McClintock, director, product marketing, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. "It's a very exciting time for both consumers and the audio industry because with aptX HD we're helping to make the Bluetooth wireless listening experience indistinguishable from wired and we're seeing growing traction commercially as a result."

Does your smartphone feature aptX HD? Let us know down below!

Tom Westrick
Tom Westrick
17 Comments
  • Disappointing there are no Samsung devices that support this codec. Hopefully that will change with the S9.
  • Oreo will bring support for aptX HD alongside LDAC
  • I'm not sure the S7 chipset will support even with the Oreo update, but we will see.
  • Of course it will. Samsung flagship lines, and even the A series lines support 2 major android updates
  • My phone supports it, but doesn't have anything to talk to. It also has a 3.5mm audio jack, so there's a good chance it never will.
  • Ymmv I suppose. I made use of Bluetooth long before I gave up the 3.5 jack. Haven't looked back.
  • Uh, maybe I'm crazy but I didn't see Google listed on the site... ? Correct me if I'm blind please!
  • I didn't see Google or Pixel on the aptx website either. Odd.
  • Bluetooth 4.2 only I guess for the Pixel Buds... 5.0 for the Pixel 2's.
  • Good luck finding anything that's BT 5.0 outside of smartphones. I hope that changes soon... especially headphones.
  • The Pixels are made by HTC and LG, so I'm assuming they will support it.
  • I see that aptX and aptX HD are options in my Pixel developer tools > Bluetooth Codecs.
  • the headphone have to support it too I suppose?
  • yeah, they do
  • Yes, both the device playing the music and the headphones need to support for it. If one devices does not support it, it will just use whatever protocol is supported by the older device.
  • surely this is not meant to be an exhaustive list? is licensing required for a device to support aptx? I did already have an old bluetooth headset, but with my purchase of Pixel 2 I decided to buy an inexpensive bt clip with 3.5mm connector which supports aptx, the DOOSL DSIT-022. In this case inexpensive very much means cheap: the case cracked, later the clip broke, and the audible messages ("phone connected", "battery low", etc) are WAY too loud. But it does work, cost little, and sounds good.
  • I have bth the LG V30 and V30+. It is supported on both these devices. I don't have any headphones that support it yet though.