TheOnePlus 6Tdoes not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning to enjoy listening to music on the phone, you either have to deal with a dongle, use OnePlus’s own USB Type-C Bullets headphones, or turn to a wireless Bluetooth connection. The good news is, OnePlus continues to be one of thefew manufacturersthat addsBluetooth AptX HDinto its phones. It’s a wireless audio codec that provides a greater-than-CD quality sound when using compatible wireless headphones.
Toexperience AptX HD, you need to follow a few simple stages to get it working. Here’s our guide to enjoying AptX HD on your OnePlus 6T. If you haven’t bought a OnePlus 6T yet, read ourOnePlus 6T reviewto find out why you should.
The right equipment
Owning the OnePlus 6T gets you only halfway to AptX HD audio nirvana. You also need an AptX HD-ready pair of headphones. That’s right, your old pair of well-used in-ears that came free with an old phone won’t cut it here. You’re going to have to splash out, but it’s worth it.
The easiest way to find out what headphones are ready for AptX HD is visitthe AptX website, where you’ll find a complete, up-to-date list of compatible hardware. We are particular fans of the superbSony WH-1000xM2headphones, the amazingAudio Technica ATH-DSR9BTover-ears, and the excellentBowers & Wilkins PXnoise canceling headphones.
More products are being released with AptX HD support all the time, so if you don’t find a pair to suit right now, do keep checking back.
How to activate AptX HD
You’ve got your OnePlus 6T, and the right pair of Bluetooth headphones all ready to go. Now, we need to prepare and then pair them together. Here are the stages you need to follow:
That’s it. You’re now set up for the best wireless audio quality you’ll hear.
Use the best music sources
When you use AptX HD and play hi-res files, the sound is as close to high resolution audio quality usually provided by wired headphones as you’ll get. It plays up to 48kHz/24-bit LPCM audio, and it’s genuinely unlike any wireless Bluetooth experience you’ll have had before. To get this, you should use hi-res sources, such asTidal HiFi, or your own hi-res music files.
Playing regular MP3 files, or music fromSpotify, will sound better using AptX HD; but it won’t be the eye-opening experience you’ll have with hi-res content.
