Netflix update makes your Android phone’s crappy speakers sound better
- The Netflix Android app includes a new audio codec called xHE-AAC.
- You don’t have to adjust the volume on your phone as often when watching shows and movies.
- You need a phone with Android 9 Pie and higher to use the codec.
If you watch Netflix on your phone a lot, you might find that shows and movies sound better the next time you launch the company’s Android app. This is because Netflix added support for an audio codec called xHE-AAC, which the company claims has some advantages.
Most notably, you can adjust the volume between shows and individual scenes much less often thanks to a technology built into the codec called Dynamic Range Control. It makes quiet scenes louder and loud scenes quieter, so you don’t get the kind of annoying volume changes that make you look for your phone’s volume controls. The volume of dialogue is also kept consistent between different shows and films. Because of these changes, you should be able to watch something on Netflix without having trouble hearing the sound coming from your phone’s speakers.
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The codec can also seamlessly adjust the bitrate of audio to reduce rebuffering when you are on a congested wireless network, thereby reducing choppy audio and interruptions. Conversely, according to Netflix, xHE-AAC says it can also be scaled to “studio quality” under the right conditions.
You need a phone with Android 9 Pie and above to use xHE-ACC. If you want to learn more about how the technology works, you can find a full breakdown on the Netflix blog.
