The same pair of earbuds can connect over AAC on an iPhone and over LDAC on an Android phone. A codec is not something the earbud spec sheet decides alone — it is picked from what the phone and the earbuds both carry. If the buds support LDAC but the phone does not, that line is never used.
By the numbers alone, LDAC's 990kbps looks decisive. But 990 is a ceiling for good conditions, and the default many phones actually choose is 330kbps. At that setting it stands roughly where SBC — the mandatory codec, at 328kbps — already stands.
The codec is decided by the intersection, not the spec sheet
Platform limits come first. Android Authority notes that AAC is the best codec for iPhone owners and that iPhones lack aptX support entirely. The aptX family is a Qualcomm set licensed widely to Android manufacturers, while Samsung's Seamless Codec is open only to Samsung devices. LHDC is supported from Android 10 onward, though some Samsung and Pixel phones exclude it.
Laid out on published specifications, the codecs split like this.
| Codec | Max bitrate (kbps) | Max resolution | Main platform support |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBC | 328 | 48kHz / 16bit | Mandatory on every device |
| AAC | 256 | 44.1kHz / 16bit | iPhone default, also on Android |
| aptX | 352 | 48kHz / 16bit | Android (Qualcomm), not iPhone |
| aptX HD | 576 | 48kHz / 24bit | Android (Qualcomm) |
| aptX Adaptive | 420 (dynamic) | 96kHz / 24bit | Android (Qualcomm) |
| aptX Lossless | 1,200 | 96kHz / 24bit | Snapdragon Sound pairings |
| LDAC | 990 | 96kHz / 24bit | Android 8+, not Apple |
| LC3 | 345 | 48kHz / 32bit | Bluetooth 5.2+ LE Audio |
| LHDC | 900 | 96kHz / 24bit | Android 10+ (some makers excluded) |
The figures vary between sources. SoundGuys lists the same codecs at 320kbps for SBC and 264kbps for AAC. A few kbps of difference comes from measurement and implementation conditions, and it is trivial next to the step gap we get to below — 330 against 990. The reason generational spec bumps rarely translate into anything audible follows the same pattern covered in the piece on Bluetooth 5.3 versus 5.4.
What percentage of the source is 990kbps?
A bitrate on its own gives no sense of scale. Set a reference and the position becomes visible. A CD master (44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo) carries 44,100 × 16 × 2 = 1,411.2kbps. A 24-bit, 96kHz stereo hi-res file carries 96,000 × 24 × 2 = 4,608kbps. Each codec's maximum bitrate divided by those two references:
| Codec | Max bitrate (kbps) | vs CD source (%) | vs 24bit/96kHz source (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAC | 256 | 18.1 | 5.6 |
| SBC | 328 | 23.2 | 7.1 |
| LDAC lowest step | 330 | 23.4 | 7.2 |
| LC3 | 345 | 24.4 | 7.5 |
| aptX | 352 | 24.9 | 7.6 |
| aptX HD | 576 | 40.8 | 12.5 |
| LDAC highest step | 990 | 70.1 | 21.5 |
| aptX Lossless | 1,200 | 85.0 | 26.0 |
Two things surface. First, even LDAC — the codec that leads with hi-res branding — sends 21.5% of a 24bit/96kHz source at its highest step. Supporting 96kHz means accepting a signal at that sample rate, not carrying it across intact. Second, when LDAC drops to its lowest step it lands within 0.2 percentage points of SBC, the point where the name and the actual throughput part ways.
aptX Lossless climbs to 85% of a CD, but that figure is a conditional ceiling requiring phone, chip and earbuds to line up under Snapdragon Sound. Miss one of the three and the link falls back to aptX Adaptive or below.
Why LDAC's 990kbps is not always 990
SoundGuys points at bandwidth as the cause: Bluetooth's weakness is its limited bandwidth, and high transfer rates can overload what is available, causing stutter or a dropped connection. So LDAC moves between 990, 660 and 330kbps — and many phones default to 330kbps. SoundGuys writes that both aptX and SBC outperform LDAC when it streams at that lowest step.
The 990kbps on the spec sheet is the most the earbuds can accept; what actually flows is decided by that day's wireless conditions.
The conditions that eat bandwidth are predictable: crowded subway cars and transfer corridors, a phone in a pocket or bag with your body between it and the buds, indoor spaces where 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and a microwave are running. Android's developer options let you pin LDAC to a quality-first setting, but that is not a choice to raise the ceiling — it is a choice to accept dropouts.
Latency is a separate axis from bitrate
Lips out of sync with sound in video and games comes from latency, not bitrate. SoundGuys states flatly that only aptX LL supports latency under 40 milliseconds. Android Authority adds that LDAC tends to show increased latency compared with aptX. Pushing bitrate up means spending more time in encoding and buffering, so quality-oriented codecs and low latency do not travel in the same direction.
SoundGuys flags one more variable: Android's Bluetooth latency is all over the map from device to device, so a codec name alone predicts nothing. If video is the main use, the presence of a maker-specific low-latency or game mode is more useful evidence than the codec table.
The order to decide in
SoundGuys' conclusion is plain — standard SBC and AAC will meet the needs of the vast majority of people. The codec sits near the end of the earbud decision, and the cases for moving it forward are narrow.
- iPhone only — there is one option, AAC. LDAC or aptX support has no reason to enter the price you pay. By Android Authority's account, Apple's AAC implementation is a strong one.
- Android and you want wired-grade quality — look at LDAC or aptX HD and above, but check in developer options which codec your phone actually negotiates before deciding.
- Mostly listening on the move — stability beats peak bitrate. aptX or AAC can serve better than an LDAC link that has fallen to 330kbps.
- Mostly video and games — close the bitrate table and look for low-latency mode support. Only the aptX LL family guarantees under 40ms by specification.
- Buying both pieces new — LC3 and LE Audio open up from Bluetooth 5.2 onward. Confirm that phone and earbuds both support LE Audio, not just one of them.