iPhone X and iPhone 8 will support FLAC audio, like the iPhone 7 with iOS 11

On the new iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus there is a codec that supports FLAC audio - a format for compressing audio data without loss. Owners of iPhone 7 will also be able to enjoy FLAC audio format when they update their devices to iOS 11.

Support for FLAC will be added to the latest iPhone models

Thanks to the codec (Free Lossless Audio Codec) FLAC audio sounds in the same good quality, in which it was recorded initially. The format compresses digital audio data without any loss. It can compress the file by 50-60%, and thus the sound quality will not get worse.

HomePod will not support FLAC, but in the future, Apple can add this feature with the system update. Analyst Dan Matt was the first to announce that the new models will support FLAC and that playing sounds in this format will not consume a lot of battery power.

In summer it became known that FLAC support will be added to some devices with the iOS 11 update, and now we know a little more about it. In the Audio section in the specifications of the iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone X appeared the point FLAC. Below you can see it on the screenshot.

However, there is no support for FLAC in the technical characteristics of the iPad Pro.

In addition, the technical characteristics of the new models do not specify the formats AIFF and WAV, but, most likely, they are now included in the Linear PCM codec.

What about the iPad?

The fact that there will not be any FLAC support on the new iPad Pro is very interesting because they work on the same processor as the iPhone 7. Most likely, Apple decided not to add support for the format to devices that do not have a built-in decoder to save the duration charge the battery.

Decoding FLAC format consumes a lot of energy, and if they are dealt with by one system, the process will be too energy-intensive.

Audio in FLAC format could be played even on iPhone 6s with a beta version of iOS 11. But on iOS 11 GM iPhone 6s no longer plays sounds in this format, unlike iPhone 7. Apple has removed the system support for FLAC from older models.

While it is not clear what the system requirements for FLAC playback will be.

System requirements for FLAC

We can conclude that the FLAC codec requires the presence of the A10 processor and newer. In the future, more will be known about this. But why FLAC support will not be added to the latest iPad Pro? After all, they work on the A10 Fusion processor, which has even more cores than the iPhone 7. Perhaps the company will first add support for new phone models, and later it will reach the iPad Pro.

FLAC format will be inconvenient on iOS 11

For fans of good sounding, this news will seem good in any case.

But on iOS 11 audio in FLAC format will not be very convenient, because the only way to play it will be the Files application (or third-party applications like Vox or Plex).

If you use iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Box, Google Drive or other storage, you will be able to play FLAC audio directly in the Files application.

Unfortunately, Music on iOS 11 will not be able to play FLAC files.

Perhaps in the future, Apple will expand the ability to play FLAC. For example, the company could add support for FLAC audio files of studio quality (16 and 24 bits) to the Music application and iTunes on the computer so we can synchronize these files on all of our devices.

So far, Apple does not sell FLAC music in the iTunes Store. On iOS and iTunes added support for their own codec Apple ALAC, but it was not popular among users.

Note that playing FLAC audio in Bluetooth headphones, AirPods or via AirPlay will still lose sound quality due to the transmission of audio AAC. To fully enjoy the music in FLAC format, it is best to use high-quality wired headphones.

Outcomes

In the postscript, to the update of iOS 11 about FLAC nothing is said, but usually, the company does not attach much importance to small details, so it does not mean anything.

In addition to supporting FLAC on iOS 11, you should not even doubt it. According to the video report from the conference, developers of 2017, on iOS 11 will be added two new popular audio formats - FLAC and Opus.

"As for FLAC, we will add support for codec, files, and playback," the video says. "For Opus, we will add codec and support for files."

macOS High Sierra supports FLAC audio format via third-party media players, which include VLC Media Player, WALTR and others.

iOS 11 will be released on Tuesday 19 September.