Sony's WF-1000XM3 is said to be getting a new update that will allow it to use Hi-Res Audio, a high-performance audio standard already used by Sony in other high-end audio products.

According to The Walkman Blog, Sony's high-end wireless earbuds, which already offer better audio performance than the Apple AirPods Pro except for calls, are listed on the Qualcomm aptX page as "aptX HD compatible." Perhaps this is a mistake, but the fact that the listing was removed soon after it was posted suggests that it was posted prematurely.

If aptX HD support is indeed enabled on the Sony WF-1000XM3 via an update, audiophiles will be overjoyed.

Files encoded in Hi-Res Audio contain the richest recordings you can find, even better than CD quality (which is not that good) and much, much better than lossless MP3 or AAC audio files. Songs are encoded using the original masters from the recording studio and lossless codecs that provide a higher soundstage. The higher resolution provides a higher sound dynamic range, like HDR10+ in video. In other words, you will be able to hear everything that happens in the recording booth, right down to the singer's or trumpet player's breath.

However, these audio files are usually transmitted to the can via a cable rather than a wireless standard like Bluetooth. aptXHD is poor quality and does not have enough bandwidth to transmit all the information, unless the device is aptXHD compatible. This Bluetooth codec is capable of transmitting high-resolution audio files at 24-bit/48 kHz.

The current Sony WF-1000XM3 does not support this standard, nor does the AirPods Pro. However, it appears that earlier earphones may have hardware that supports it. It may not yet be enabled, and leaks on Qualcomm's page seem to indicate that.