Best phone for streaming audio

[ex audiophile]

Hi, my understanding from reading is that if you're going to use bluetooth from your phone to another component, then aptX HD is the best codec, and no iphone has this feature. Assuming that is true I am looking to dump my iphone for an android phone assuming most models have aptX HD. I would be connecting to an Audioengine B1 which features aptX HD so I should be good on both ends. Comments? suggestions?

Plan B would be to use something like a Port or other broadband input device to my preamp. Just not sure I would hear a difference between aptXHD and the latter approach, streaming Qobuz, 67 year old ears.

 

[Jimbob54]

Hi, my understanding from reading is that if you're going to use bluetooth from your phone to another component, then aptX HD is the best codec, and no iphone has this feature. Assuming that is true I am looking to dump my iphone for an android phone assuming most models have aptX HD. I would be connecting to an Audioengine B1 which features aptX HD so I should be good on both ends. Comments? suggestions?

Plan B would be to use something like a Port or other broadband input device to my preamp. Just not sure I would hear a difference between aptXHD and the latter approach, streaming Qobuz, 67 year old ears.

All new (last few years) android phones should be both aptx HD and (even better) ldac compatible. It's baked into android, not manufacturer dependent. Yes, you should be good both ends.

 

[Blake Klondike]

I have owned a couple of Samsung Galaxy S9 phones, and they supposedly designed with audio quality in mind. They come with a set of really sturdy, decent AKG IEMs and even have onboard EQ and emulation for tubes and different hall reverb emulations! They work really well for all the other phone functions too.

 

[jcadduono]

+1 on Galaxy Phones, Samsung has also implemented some code sorcery in Android kernel and system framework that gives it support to play bit-perfect audio up to 24/192 (last I checked, maybe more now?) without dithering or resampling via USB DAC and headphone jack using its official Samsung Music app from the Galaxy store, which is a VERY nice music player that I love to use. Of course, with Bluetooth all your audio will be compressed to the codec of your choosing which generally has a specific sample rate and bit depth that it supports, so Bluetooth will not have much variation between phones.
I use the Hong Kong G9750 (Galaxy S10+)

I got my 50 year old mother to go from the iPhone to Galaxy S10 and she thinks it is so much easier to use and way more logically laid out in functions than the iPhone as well, haha!