The Google Pixel 8 is about to get a serious audio quality upgrade

Journey back in time to the era of Walkmans and CD players, where music enthusiasts proudly carried their dedicated devices, each holding a curated collection of their favorite tunes. Even before these gadgets graced our lives, vinyl records reigned supreme, spinning on turntables and filling homes with the warmth of lossless audio. In its purest essence, lossless audio is music presented in its original, uncompressed form, preserving every nuance and detail intended for the listener to experience. Sadly, as technology moved on, these dedicated music players were replaced by smartphones and streaming services. While these new options offer a vast library of music, they often sacrifice the quality that makes music so special. In an effort to bring back the richness and depth of original recordings, Google is preparing a handy audio quality upgrade for its latest flagship phone series.

Dave Burke, Google’s vice president of engineering, has dropped some exciting news on Reddit, revealing that lossless USB audio is coming to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. This means that music lovers can soon experience their favorite songs in their purest form, without any loss of quality. As tech enthusiast Mishaal Rahman spotted, Burke explained that this feature will “ensure bit perfect audio” by allowing music files to bypass the usual audio processing pipeline.

Here’s how it works: Instead of your music being compressed and altered, it flows directly from your phone to your headphones in its original, uncompressed form. As a result, you’ll hear every instrument, every vocal inflection, and every subtle detail with crystal clarity.

Burke said that lossless USB audio will be available on the Pixel 8 series and other Android phones in a future release. However, app developers must first adopt the new API for lossless audio to make this audio format available to users. Some of our favorite music players on Android, like Spotify, are also planning to add lossless audio support.

Lossless audio has been around for a while in the digital realm. However, it hasn’t quite hit the mainstream due to a couple of hurdles. First, it often comes with a premium price tag, requiring subscriptions to services like Tidal and Apple Music. Second, tracks in lossless format are not always easy to come by. So, many music lovers are content with the convenience and affordability of compressed audio formats, even if it means sacrificing some audio fidelity. After all, not everyone has the discerning ears of an audiophile or the budget for premium subscriptions.

Adding lossless USB audio to the Pixel 8 series doesn’t entirely come as a surprise, seeing as Google added OS-level support for this audio format with Android 14 Beta 2. So, while lossless audio hasn’t quite taken over the mainstream yet, it holds the potential to revolutionize the way we experience music.

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  Google Pixel 8

  The Google Pixel 8, while not quite as flashy as its bigger brother, the Pixel 8 Pro, still shines as a top-notch flagship phone. It might not have all the bells and whistles of the Pro, but it packs a serious punch when it comes to performance, security, and software support.

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  Source: Google

  Google Pixel 8 Pro

  Google’s Pixel 8 Pro is the tech giant’s latest masterpiece, packed with cutting-edge features that’ll make your smartphone experience a lot smarter and more enjoyable. At the heart of this powerhouse lies the new Tensor G3 chip, a brainiac that not only makes your phone blazingly fast but also unlocks a whole new world of photo and video magic.