One that got here throughout my feed known as the “Nubia Music”, and even when it doesn’t sound just like the title of a smartphone, it’s certainly a €150 price range phone Europeans will be capable to purchase beginning this April.
The Nubia Music proves smartphones with a character are nonetheless thrilling – no less than to me – the cool child who rocked a Nokia XpressMusic in fifth grade. Kids, Nokia was mainly Apple, however earlier than the iPhone existed.
The $150 Nubia Music has a “loud” design and a speaker “6x louder” than that of your iPhone/Galaxy
Kids, wired headphones are like AirPods however with wires that hold from the underside, and plug into your phone. They have been used as torture units within the the early 2000s. The torture parts concerned having to untangle the headphones each time you pull them out of your pocket.
Despite the shortage of “Pro”, “Max”, or “Ultra” within the title, the Nubia Music’s second notable function is a literal “party trick” I want my Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 8 Pro, and that iPhone 15 Pro Max knew methods to carry out – a “6x louder (compared to your average smartphone) speaker”.
In case you’re questioning, those that’ve had a probability to listen to how the speaker sounds in a loud atmosphere (at MWC), say it does certainly sound a lot louder than a typical set of smartphone audio system.
Now, let’s be sincere… The Nubia Music will most actually be forgotten quickly after you’re completed studying this text, however it’s a nice dialog starter for a story I’ve been wanting to jot down for a whereas now – one about how mediocre smartphone audio system are…
When they don’t must be!
Listening to music on my Galaxy S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and Pixel 8 Pro: Apple wins however the progress in smartphone sound high quality needs to be far higher
Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd’s “Moth To a Flame” sounds the perfect on the iPhone 15 Pro Max however I want a lot extra quantity for after I’m within the bathe!
My $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra is “extra” sufficient to have an S Pen however not a pair of wonderful sounding audio system, whereas my $1,000 Pixel 8 Pro sounds much more mediocre in comparison with my $1,200 iPhone 15 Pro Max, which sounds good (though not spectacular).
And after taking part in a bunch of music on my Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 8 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max again to again (you are able to do that by switching the output gadget in your Spotify participant), together with some unique tracks I produced, my preliminary impressions have been as follows:
- The new Galaxy S24 Ultra is loud (which is nice), and sounds respectable for a phone, however it leaves a lot to be desired on the subject of soundstage, bass, and total “richness” and instrument separation
- Surprisingly, the Pixel 8 Pro sounds worse than I keep in mind it sounding a few months again, and my unit hasn’t suffered any bodily harm; Google’s flagship is quieter, mushier, and total the least spectacular “speaker phone” amongst the three
- On the opposite hand, the Phone 15 Pro Max sounds the perfect to my ear, which isn’t precisely stunning provided that its predecessors already had the lead in sound high quality; the 15 Pro Max sounds fuller, richer, hotter, and simply places out probably the most bass amongst the three, which is definitely spectacular (for a mainstream flagship phone)
After flicking by means of a bunch of tracks, I centered on listening to SHM and The Weeknd’s “Moth To a Flame”, which confirmed probably the most variations between the Galaxy, Pixel, and that iPhone audio system (no less than to my ear). Bear in thoughts that which phone sounds “better” would possibly differ primarily based on the track/style. Despite that, the iPhone 15 Pro Max additionally sounded the perfect after I performed a few unique tracks I uploaded on all telephones.
$1,000 flagship telephones don’t have to have mediocre audio system, however phone-makers maintain ignoring sound
Although I’m grateful the tiny rear audio system of previous instances are gone, since then, each different facet of the smartphone has seen considerably rather more love and upgrades.
In the tip, whereas pivotal components and elements of the smartphone have seen a gradual and indeniable progress over time (design, show, digital camera, processing energy, endurance), most phone makers appear to disregard placing effort into making their telephones sound good. And this doesn’t sit proper with me.
As somebody who likes listening to music immediately from my phone (I don’t personal an exterior Bluetooth speaker, until you rely my Google Nest Mini), I can’t assist however discover this to be a little bit insulting – particularly when it additionally applies to the a number of $1,000+ flagship telephones sitting on my desk.
Listening to music apart, immediately, folks eat tons of content material on their telephones, which may benefit from a nice set of audio system simply as a lot – you’ve YouTube movies, motion pictures, podcasts, and suree… Even TikTookay.
What would it not take for Apple, Samsung, and Google to provide us flagship telephones with nice sounding audio system? I feel I’ve the best resolution!
A 2+1 speaker setup with two “regular” stereo drivers and a single, massive rear speaker just like the one within the Nubia Music sounds excellent!
So… What would it not take for audio system on mainstream telephones to (lastly) get to the following stage, and is it a life like improve to anticipate?
For starters, sure, good audio system on costly telephones is 100% a life like expectation to have! That being mentioned, there are some apparent limitations to how “amazing” audio system on telephones would possibly be capable to sound with the present design and tech telephones are working with.
Still, I can consider a few sensible concepts that don’t require your iPhone or Android to grow to be a pill to sound higher:
- Mainstream phone-makers should take an instance from gaming phone just like the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, which has a set of spectacular sounding twin audio system with massive drivers and full bass due to massive bass chambers
- Four audio system as an alternative of two? The two further audio system may be on the highest and backside, and even on the edges of the phone for a spatial, encompass sound impact
- Make extra folding telephones, which have more room to work with to create a fuller sound; enhance present folding phone audio system?
- Last however not least, let’s not neglect the Nubia Music (which is the inspiration behind this text); in fact, having a single rear speaker wouldn’t be a excellent resolution, however what if we’ve got a massive rear speaker along with two “regular” stereo audio system? That means you may make the most of all of them relying on what sort of media you’re consuming, and whether or not your phone is sitting flat on the desk or not!
The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate (which has some exception audio system) isn’t all that a lot bigger than a common flagship. In reality, it’s far narrower than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Anyway… I’ve a hunch Apple will proceed to be the “leader” in making probably the most constant progress in how the audio system on non-gaming flagship telephones sound. And that’s not solely as a result of the iPhone has traditionally had comparatively higher sounding audio system than Android flagships.
Apple has one other, distinctive incentive to enhance the multimedia expertise on the iPhone, and that’s the Vision Pro headset, which (similar to the iPhone) is ready to seize Spatial movies. Of course, a part of each stellar video is (or least needs to be) stellar sound, and this might be the motivation for Apple to additional enhance the audio system on the iPhone 16 sequence (and past).
Tying up properly with the discharge of the Vision Pro headset, we’ve heard rumors about new, considerably upgraded microphones coming to iPhone 16 Pro, which is one other facet of audio and multimedia expertise Apple and Android shouldn’t ignore.
Either means, if phone makers can discover the area to suit 3-5 cameras on the again of a phone, with humongous digital camera bumps, I’m positive they will make area for a lot higher audio system!