Do the Sony WF-1000XM6 work better with Android or iPhone?

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Short answer: Both work great, but Android users get better audio quality thanks to LDAC support. Here's what that actually means.

The codec difference matters

LDAC is Sony's high-resolution Bluetooth codec that can push audio at up to 990kbps. The AAC codec that iPhones use maxes out at 256kbps. That's almost 4x the data rate, and you can hear the difference with good recordings.

Android has had LDAC built in since Android 8, so any phone from the last few years supports it. To enable it on the WF-1000XM6, open the Sony Sound Connect app and set Bluetooth connection quality to "Priority on Sound Quality."

iPhones don't support LDAC. Apple has never added support for it or any other high-res Bluetooth codec. iPhone users are limited to AAC, which is decent but not audiophile-grade.

What iPhone users can do

Sony includes DSEE Extreme, an AI that restores detail to compressed audio from Spotify or Apple Music. It works well and noticeably improves clarity, especially in the high frequencies. Enable it in the Sound Connect app.

The app works the same on both

The Sound Connect app has identical features on iOS and Android:

• Full noise cancellation control
• 10-band equalizer (better than the XM5's 5-band)
• Ambient sound modes
• Head gesture setup
• Speak-to-Chat configuration

Sometimes Android gets new features a week or two earlier, but they come to iOS shortly after.

The practical reality

If you're a casual listener streaming from Spotify, you probably won't notice much difference. The earbuds sound great either way.

But if you use Tidal, Amazon Music HD, or local FLAC files and care about audio quality, Android with LDAC is noticeably better. The soundstage is wider and detail retrieval is improved.

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