In 2020, Bluetooth 5.2 introduced support for the new LE Audio specification. At least two Apple employees are listed as participants in the development of LE Audio, and Apple is likely to adopt the specification for future devices.
According to a newly published document in the Bluetooth SIG database, Apple recently tested an unknown component that supports Bluetooth 5.3. The document doesn’t reveal any other notable details but is similar to a document from last month that indicated that Apple is preparing for future devices with a Bluetooth version that supports LE Audio.
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LE Audio technology is especially beneficial for AirPods headphones, such as Apple’s upcoming AirPods Pro 2 rumored to carry this technology. It is expected to be unveiled at the iPhone 14/Pro launch event in September.
MacRumors outlines five benefits that LE Audio will bring to future AirPods Pro, assuming that source devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs will also be upgraded to support the specification in the future.
- Improved audio quality: According to the Bluetooth SIG, LE Audio includes a new low-power audio codec called LC3, which provides improved audio quality compared to the classic SBC codec, even at a 50% lower bit rate %.
- Longer battery life: With the low-power LC3 audio codec, future AirPods Pro will have longer battery life for audio playback.
- Multi-Stream Audio: LE Audio can stream multiple simultaneous audio streams between source devices like iPhone or Mac and AirPods Pro. This will allow separate left and right AirPods to each have a Bluetooth audio connection to a device that supports LE Audio audio for increased reliability.
- Connect multiple pairs of AirPods to iPhone at once: LE Audio will allow multiple pairs of AirPods to connect directly to future iPhones, iPads, Macs, or other devices and play audio simultaneously. Apple already has a feature that allows an iPhone or iPad user with AirPods to share audio with another person using AirPods, but it doesn’t work with more than two pairs of AirPods.
- No need to switch between iPhone and Mac: LE Audio will allow AirPods to connect to multiple source devices like iPhone and Mac at the same time, eliminating the need to switch AirPods between devices.
In July of this year, the Bluetooth SIG said that it is expected that by the end of 2022, the availability of products supporting LE Audio will increase significantly.
