yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Elnrik:
I haven't heard a single Bluetooth device, aptx or no, that sounds as good as wired cans or IEMs, and I've bought the high end Parrot, Sennheiser, Bose models and returned each one. For me, that's the aptx killer. The source can be stellar, but if you play it back on stuff that sounds like crap, you're still left with crap.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ySo Jelly:
Well you need aptx compatability on both ends for it to work. Otherwise your stream will default to the ****ty SBC.

Just wondering why the Nexus line avoids this when LG/Samsung/HTC/Sony all have it. I'd really like to pair my 6P up with my headunit in the car and get some decent sq without cables.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SymbioticGenius:
Probably because most people who care a lot about sound quality don't use Bluetooth. Also

Android Auto

Sent from my Nexus 6
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JStar1033:
Wow, I didn't even realize the 6p didn't have apt-x
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] atoy74:
I would love for it to have APT-X but it's not a deal killer for me.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ali87:
Here's Google's response to your question in a Reddit AMA yesterday:

"DB> No but aptx support for Android in general is something we’re thinking about."

Fingers crossed, it might actually happen!
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Pilz:
Beats aren't exactly high end headphones despite their high price so I doubt they do. I have a few sets of Bose headphones but my hearing is pretty bad so I doubt I would notice the difference with APT-X anyway
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shadymouse:
Not a deal breaker, but I would love to have it. The Moto X sounded really good with me Sony BT headphones using Apt-X. I originally was using Viper but I quickly realized that my music quality went down hill. Disabled it, and my music quality went back to normal.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] osi13:
70.5bps? That doesn't even make sense. It appears the max bitrate for SBC is 345kbps. I use a OnePlus One in my car for BT audio with spotify 320kbps, and it doesn't sound much different than plugging my iPhone 5 via USB for audio with the same source.

Here's a quote from an article at bringsound.com. I don't know how credible this source is, but it seems to mirror my experience without apt-x.

"Many recent devices implement SBC at a high enough bit rate that aptX doesn’t appear to make a noticeable difference in sound quality. "

The main difference between SBC and apt-x appears to be lower latency (something I don't care about for my situation) and fewer artifacts. This isn't really something to be up in arms about, IMO.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bds369:
coming off of devices that support the Apt-X protocol to see this left off is really really disappointing. So much so that it's keeping me from placing an order as I contemplate it.

Once you hear the difference, and there is a huge difference, you never want to go back to a2dp aka normal bluetooth quality again.

Is the support strictly a software limitation - meaning could it be added by an app or custom ROM?

To some this is a non-issue, but for others its huge. I don't consider myself an audiophile, nor do I think you need to be to hear the difference.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
Me too. I really like Aptx and sound quality is important to me. I believe it's just a licensing issue, ie. Google has to pay CSR to include the protocol.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gman16000:
Very sad no Apt-X. I use it for car and headset. It's really easy to tell when Apt-X is turned off. I see what it sounds like when my 6P arrives and go from there.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jordy787:
lets us know :)
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Locklear308:
Wow, good counter argument to people who whine about using bluetooth speakers over built in Stereo speakers!

BURN

lol Kidding, but seriously I am shocked at how low the quality of BT music is... I'll be using USB audio soon so oh well.

---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------

You realize that "CD Quality Sound" is garbage right? 24bit 192khz or go home. Also...the dynamic range compression... Ugh.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bds369:
Does android auto not use bluetooth to transfer the audio? If it truely does pass through with usb thats a possitive for sure. However i hope the auto makers make the port you plug it into be quick charge at a high amp rate or its all for naught.

For other devices such as small bluetooth speakers or headphones my ears would not forgive me
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gman16000:
I finally got my 6p and can give you my experience without Apt-X. Sorry this is long. Hopefully helpful.

My Setup:

Headphones: Sony MDR-10RBT

Phone #1: Galaxy Note 4 (Apt-X)

Phone #2: Nexus 6p

Source: Google Music (Audio set to High on Wifi)

Headphones:

Showing 3 blue flashes for both phones (means SBC (high quality), AAC or aptX selected automatically)

http://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/10rbt/v1/en/contents/04/01/04/04.html

"Subjective" Part:

Sorry to say that the 6p does not sound as good. I can easily hear the difference. Sorry I'm not good at describing it (I'm an engineer and not an audiophile sound reviewer), but here goes. With Apt-X and the Note 4, bass notes sound lower and the high notes sound more transparent and crisp than with the same songs on the 6p. Music sounds punchier and just more clear. Definitely not my imagination. If I had someone in the room here, I could have them randomly connect the headphones up to one of the phones and I'm certain I could bet my life on picking which phone I was connected to with 100% accuracy.

So does the 6p sound bad?? If I never heard the Apt-X version over these headphones, I would not know any better and the music would (and does) sound great. I almost wish I had not compared them side by side and I would have been happy with the 6p sound. Ignorance is bliss. But now that I know and have heard, it will make me a little crazy (I'm a bit OCC that way), but I'll live.

If this is the very small price I pay getting off that crap locked buggy Verizon Note 4, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 640k:
does your BT headset allow for wired connections? does the audio clarity increase on the 6P with the wires? I have Sol Republic Tracks Air BT Headphones that have APT-X support, but I don't own a device that offers APT-X. on my '13 Moto X, audio sounds clipped and lacking. when i wire them directly, the audio clarity is only limited by the media played.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gman16000:
The headphones do have a wired option. That is a good test. So plugging wiring the headphones directly to the 6p sounds much better. The bass and clarity are back again when wired. I can't tell the difference between Note4/Apt-X vs 6p/Wired

So if lack of apt-X on the 6p ends up making me crazy, I can always switch back to wired. I really don't like wires (or the headphone jack in the top of the phone) so I'll prolly just live with it.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] npras42:
I just got my 6p coming from a Note 3 with aptX. I connected wirelessly to my Moto Stream (also supports aptX) and immediately noticed that sound quality has significantly degraded - actually I would describe it as garbage it is that much noticeably worse. It is more muffled with much less clarity and as the poster above describes the bass is not as deep and punctuated.

I actually didnt realise that Nexus devices did not support aptX until I just searched google 5 minutes ago. Highly disappointed. I don't really want to go back to wired. Chromecast etc is not feasible in my usage. :(
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] malek777:
I think it's odd the 6p doesn't support aptx yet. For people that don't own good bt headphones, don't make a judgment until you try em out. They sound as good as wired. I use the sony 10rbt on the s6 edge plus and I cant tell the difference between wired and wireless. Imo For music lovers the 6p is a no go
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
I'm guessing there's no chance of any custom ROM adding in support of AptX since it's licensed? Ie. Costs $$$ to include?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dwswager:
Actually, Qualcomm bought the developer of AptX and it is rumored a flash to the Snapdragon might do the trick.

---------- Post added at 06:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:35 PM ----------

Wow, I bet your a sight traveling with 100lbs of stereo equipment every where you go.

I'm into audio quality, but everything in life is about trade offs. Bluetooth in most cases, would be essentially indistinguishable at normal highway speeds with AptX or some other compression codec that allowed more bitrate. More people would care about Bluetooth audio transfer if it sounded better than the original.

Everyone hears differently and we all get to pick what we like. But some things are just stupid. I remember Bob Carver designing a solid state amp over the weekend, in a hotel room, across from Stereophile Magazine headquarters that Stereophile editors could tell from $7500 Mark Levinson amp. 18 gauge zip cord sounds just like $5/ft speaker cable. And taking a green magic maker around the rim of a CD doesn't make it sound any different.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SymbioticGenius:
THANK YOU, I've never gotten a compliment on my car via XDA before. I guess it's true what they say...

Love is what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

Sent from 2016 Subaru WRX
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 640k:
relevant...
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ghostnyc:
Is everyone here using stock 6P? Could a custom ROM add Apt-X support? Bluetooth with Apt-X is a superior listening experience to standard Bluetooth, its hard to go back to BT without it.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
Looks, possible based on a thread in xda but I think illegal due to licensing costs. This bites. I pulled out my old M7 for the gym bc Bluetooth sounds so much better with Aptx
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
There is actually a simple solution for this, however not that practical: an AtpX dongle, but this is stupid actually, since our hardware could easily handle it. There are Some guys who are trying to port AtpX to aosp, however they don't make much progress and only have a sort-of-working version for kitkat. (There's still a bounty of about $400, so if you are handy and want easy money, don't hold back!!) I think our best bet would be to port BlueZ to our phone, since BlueZ now natively supports AtpX, however the tutorial is far beyond my abilities and there is no word on if this will work with N as well (need to be a bit future proof right?).

So yeah... Hopefully this will give the subject some more attention once more, and perhaps some smart mind will be able to enlighten our ears with our amazing phone!
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
I bought that Aptx dongle for this problem a while ago. While the sound is better, you lose the ability to control from the bt headset, so too much of a pain.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
That's a pain indeed.

Hmm I might try it out, since I have a smartwatch I can do number skipping and volume control from there
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
I'll sell you mine for $5 plus shipping. It's the same Aukey bt-c1 model in link above but mine looks a little different than the Amazon pic
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
Thanks for the offer, but mine is already on its way to my home :p
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
Cool. Please post your opinion here after you compare to stock Bluetooth.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
I actually already did that using a moto g compared to my 6p in combination with my new Sony headphones (that have aptx). I played the same song on Spotify, same settings, no equaliser etc and honestly, I could tell the difference. With aptx it sounds like as if it would look if you wipe your glasses. You just notice more details and get this kinda wow factor more (this of course depends on which headphones you use). When I use the headphones wired on my phone I couldn't tell the difference anymore though, so probably this will be the same with the aptx dongle, will update though!

Update: did the same test with my own phone, same song, with dongle and without, however the difference is less aparent now... Even with a different song... Will have to compare the 6p with dongle to the moto g without for better comparison. Anyway, it does drain less battery on my phone :P
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ChongoDroid:
I think I saw something pop up regarding apt-x when I connected my LG tone platinums.

Edit: nvm that was my G5
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
Haha you are lucky, your G5 even had Apt-X hd! the first of its kind
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MajGablu:
Sony MDRs have them.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ChongoDroid:
I doubt the 6p will get it but maybe next gen pixels
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
I actually got apt-x working on the 6p on android o using the files in this zip. It should be flashable, but that didn't work for me. However if you unpack it manually in the correct place and fix the permissions it works. Or you can do like me and throw the files in a random magisk module in /magisk/ (but of course it would be better to create a magisk module for these files itself).

Edit: I did just that. I've not yet tested it though since I have some troubles with magisk on my phone, so use it at your own risk.

Edit2: Tested and working, enjoy! Just add the zip from the attachment in Magisk Manager.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ChongoDroid:
Works perfectly on my hbs 1100 platinums.!

This is awesome.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mrizvi66:
i wasn't able to get the option to show up in dev options.

i flashed the zip and it shows up in magisk as enabled.

any ideas of what i should check? permissions?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] frap129:
EDIT: Ignore, should have read the whole thread before replying
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ibanez33:
Sorry if I'm asking a stupid question but did you tap bluetooth audio codec?

I only ask as the option should be there even without the module installed, the issue was that you couldn't choose it and have it do anything.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
Of course this only works with android O and your headphones need to be compatible. With or without the module, the options in developer settings are already there, but clicking them makes them not "stick". This is because the files are missing. After you've installed my module these settings should "stick" but only if your headphones support that setting and have it enabled.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mrizvi66:
I don't see the Bluetooth option in Dev options.

Oh I'm still on Android Nougat. Thx for the responses tho.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] LazerL0rd:
do u need ldac files too?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
Ldac is an even better quality bluetooth audio standard than aptx. All these new supported standards are in these files I think. I wouldn't see why not including ldac would benefit you in any way
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] snky1987:
I flashed the zip from attachment using TWRP and I got into the bootloop :(

How can I add that ZIP in Magisk manager ? When I use this "+" sign in "Modules" section I do not see this ZIP in the list
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vishal007:
Any way to get this working on Nougat? I heard it works by Flashing a specific zip file on Lineage OS based ROMs (as they include Qualcomm Audio drivers instead of AOSP drivers). I'm not on any LOS based ROM maybe anyone can give this a shot?

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/201...our-oneplus-xiaomi-pixel-or-nexus-smartphone/
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
Don't flash it from recovery! Use magisk manager indeed. If you press the + in the modules section it just opens your local file browser, download my zip en use that file browser to locate the file, then it should work.

When I have time I'll upload it to the magisk repo, then you can download it from the Downloads section and install it right away, but for now, download it from my post.

---------- Post added at 03:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:04 PM ----------

I think if you go a bit back in this thread, some people have succeeded on nougat with Los. If not, then I think it's possible nonetheless.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] snky1987:
I did. For the second time I used Magisk and I ended up with a bootloop again. I can't test it again as I moved to LineageOS now. Much easier to activate AptX in LineageOS for nexus 6p :)
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vishal007:
So LOS does support aptx for our n6p? How's the latency when you play games, say Piano Tiles, is there any lag after activating aptx?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] snky1987:
Oh, there is. You can't play sound based games even with aptX. Latency is barely noticeable when you play music (I would say it's no more than 0.3sec) but it worked similar with SBC before.

LOS supports aptX natively only for devices that have the license just like Android O (nexus doesn't have the license) but there is an library that works perfectly with LOS.

Quality is much better though with aptX. I noticed that bass and trebles are no longer "screaming" with aptX (I am using Viper4Arisse).
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vishal007:
I understand. I was looking forward to reduce the lag. There is no lag whatsoever when I play games on my PC running Windows, if it's not the apt-x that's missing from n6p then what could be the cause of such lag in the audio?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 911jason:
So I can't seem to get the setting to stick, is that because my car doesn't support any of the good codecs?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] eddro22:
Was wondering the same I have pioneer head head unit with android auto and can't get any of the new codecs to work would like to hear the difference in sound on a 4,000 RMS system:p
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 911jason:
I don't believe Android Auto uses Bluetooth for music playback, only phone calls.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gorman42:
Hi! I installed your module through Magisk Manager. It appears as correctly installed and the phone is working correctly.

One thing I've noticed is that if I go to Developer options, under Bluetooth Audio Codec I can select aptX and after the selection has been made it displays as aptX under Bluetooth Audio Codec. What I discovered, though, is that if I exit from Dev options and go back, it still displays "Use System Selection (Default)". Is this normal?

By having a look in CatLog I see lots of aptx entries. While watching catlog during playback (pausing, resuming, etc.) it seems aptx is in use. Any surefire way to tell? Tomorrow I'll try and check with the adapter I use for the car (aux connected) where I have different blinking leds for different codecs.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Humpie:
Try to have a look at your Bluetooth settings and the device you're trying to play music on. There now should be a setting "use high quality audio". Is this enabled for you?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gorman42:
Oh yeah!!! :D

"Use high-quality audio: aptX", activated. :D

Catlog was right after all.

Now I can enjoy the tons of absolutely no difference at my pleasure. ;) (SBC codec is used at such high bitrates that I'm really sure it's pretty much the same).
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StarRavier:
They do have it, and it does work but both devices need to be Apt-X compatible to my understanding. At least through my bluetooth stereo it does. Certain kenwood stereos come with apt compatibility.

http://www.kenwood.com/ca/car/excelon/dpx791bh/ the model I have has a noticeable audio quality difference over http://www.kenwood.com/ca/car/receiver/dpx502bt/ which is now in my girlfriends car.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sunupper:
APT-X works now on my Nexus 5X (Stock Android 8.0 Oreo) with Magisk 14.0 - thank you so much!

screenshot of bluetooth settings (german): https://i.imgur.com/4Ub4d8V.png
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gorman42:
This is seriously awesome. It works perfectly for me as well. Thanks XDA!!! :)
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] p327blk:
Could some kind soul point me to or write an easier to follow guide than those to be found for a complete and somewhat nervous newbie, so that I too may be blessed with great audio?

I've never tampered with my Nexus 6P - just did a factory reset and upgraded to 8.0 this morning, and would like to take the opportunity to activate apt-x. Been using SBH-80 with Nexus 6P for 2 years now without knowing this was possible!
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] CZ Eddie:
AospExtended ROM has built-in aptX support.

No mods necessary:

https://xdaforums.com/nexus-6p/development/rom-aospextended-v2-t3530382/page11#post73867050
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ClevererSpade:
yes this enables apt x when using an apt x supported bluetooth headphone but I dont feel any noticeable difference wrt quality or latency. is it supposed to be like that?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Milan P.:
Does this work on Nexus 5X?
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dogsontreadmills:
I'm in the same position! Also desperate to get this enabled and don't know where to start. Always have run stock unmodified. This is the first time I've really been tempted.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Curiousn00b:
You can start here: https://xdaforums.com/nexus-6p/general/guides-how-to-guides-beginners-t3206928

Once you have the custom recovery installed, you're pretty much ready to install whatever you want. Unlocking the bootloader will wipe your device, so be sure to back up anything you want to keep before continuing. :cool:
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lofty248:
What rom are you using?

Have manually installed the zip into magisk and set permissions the same as other modules but when I go into developer settings i still cannot select apt or aptx-hd...

on stock android 8.1, hopefully that is not the issue.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StephenMSmith:
You need to first connect BT headphones w/APTx via BT. Then you will see the APTx on/off switch in BT settings and also be able to change b/t those options in developer settings.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Squall88uk:
Can confirm that this works when you extract the contents of the zip file and place the /system/lib and /system/lib64 files in the same named folders on the device then fix permissions to 644 and reboot!

Worked flawlessly when I did that, no requirement for magisk. Handy for those of us that still root the old fashioned way using SuperSU and don't mind or care about modifying the system partition.
[Nexus 6P Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nowster:
I can confirm this still works with Oreo 8.1 June update.
[Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wah00kid:
Okay so yes I know that this has the new connector but has any one seen the spec on the speed underneath it.

Google is not my friend with this as there have been so many rumors and posts about the phone it is hard to dig deep when the search terms are USB type C and then 3.0... That is not getting me very far.
[Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] clninja:
I'm curious as well. Nothing said about charge time.. I wonder how long to charge from 0-100
[Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] clninja:
According to this......its 3.0
[Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lopri:
Multiple outlets say 3.0. You will have to wait for some sort of first-hand test to confirm it.
[Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 51ice:
doesn't matter at all, I won't use it that offen....
[Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wah00kid:
http://m.gsmarena.com/nexus_5x_nexus_6p_hands_on-review-1312.php

This confirms as well