codecs Qualcomm aptX and aptX HD, that enable high-quality Bluetooth audio are now free to use on Android devices.
Previously, device manufacturers had to pay a license fee to use codecs on their devices, with fees of up to $6,000 for a one-time payment along with per-device payment.
This change means that any developer building a custom ROM can now add Qualcomm aptX or aptX HD support without having to copy them from a licensed version.
codecs now they are part under the Apache Android Open Source Project (AOSP) license and is free to use. While this change may not be significant to the average user, it could result in More devices will support Hi-Fi wireless audio format in the future.
Qualcomm clarified that while aptX and aptX HD codecs are now free to use, companies will still have to pay for licenses to use other aspects of aptX, as the decoder on the receiving end of the Bluetooth connection. Furthermore, it remains the responsibility of ROM developers to use these open source AOSP encoders.
This breakthrough marks a major breakthrough for the mobile phone industry, which has seen a marked improvement in Bluetooth audio quality over the last decade, but has also faced criticism for abandoning the headphone jack.