Your Android phone is hiding your headphones’ best audio quality — here’s how to unlock it

Your Android phone might be capable of far more Bluetooth audio options than you think. You see, most of the time, Android’s Bluetooth audio menu exposes only a small fraction of what your phone and headphones can actually do. For more advanced settings, you may need to reach for your headphones’ companion app or dive into Android’s Developer Settings, where a much wider selection of Bluetooth codecs and playback modes is available.

Take my aging Sony WH-1000XM3, for example. It technically supports Qualcomm’s aptX, yet my phone’s regular Bluetooth settings only offer LDAC as the high-definition option and SBC for standard playback. Some phones don’t even expose an HD codec option at all.