Bluetooth HDT Nearly Quadruples Speed, Paving Way for Lossless Audio

Some earbuds already advertise lossless or high-resolution playback, but they mostly depend on proprietary manufacturer codecs that work only between select devices. HDT is meant to provide a globally standardized foundation, so better sound could work across any devices that comply with the standard. Movies should gain as well: the higher bandwidth should help with multi-channel surround sound and spatial audio.

Battery life and beyond headphones

Because HDT moves more data in less time, the radio can stop transmitting and rest sooner. Compliant devices should therefore use less power to send the same amount of data, which should improve battery life. The announcement, however, gives no specific battery-life figure.

The SIG also points to uses well beyond headphones: faster smartwatch syncing, lighter smart glasses and AI gadgets that offload work to a phone, VR and AR headsets, industrial monitoring and smart home devices.

What comes next

As the standard is brand new, compliant products are likely to arrive in 2027. One caveat is that HDT remains optional, so each manufacturer decides whether to include it. Shoppers hoping for lossless wireless audio will need to check whether a given pair of Bluetooth Core 7.0 earbuds actually supports the feature.