Apple is moving beyond Bluetooth with new SPR AVS protocol, starting with the iPhone 17 series

Until this year, AirPods used Bluetooth as the main wireless audio protocol. While Bluetooth is reliable and cross-platform, it comes with its limits: it compresses audio with SBC or (less common) AAC lossy codecs which reduces quality, and its latency makes it less suitable for precise synchronization in uses like gaming, music production or live translation. AirPlay helped with multi-device streaming, but didn’t offer real-time audio-video sync or support for sensor data.

SPR AVS (Spatial Relay Audio-Visual Sync) is Apple’s new protocol, first being implemented in iPhone 17, AirPods Pro 3, and Vision Pro. At this point, it's not entirely clear if this is an entirely new connection tech (like NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ...) or merely a new Bluetooth protocol (like AVRCP, A2DP, SBC, ...). What is know is that it does not look to be a universal replacement, but rather a complementary option for cases where higher performance is needed. SPR AVS uses peer-to-peer encrypted connections instead of routing audio through cloud servers or Wi-Fi, which lowers lag and improves privacy. It adjusts bandwidth depending on noise and device situation, supposedly enabling true lossless audio and less than 10ms latency. Multi-device sync and support for sensor and biometric data are included, which makes SPR AVS suitable for spatial audio, AR, and VR.

In March 2025, AirPods Max (curr. $499 on Amazon) received support for 24-bit/48 kHz audio and low latency if used with a USB-C cable. Wireless Bluetooth still compresses audio; lossless is only available via wired USB-C, not wirelessly. When plugged in, the headphones can reproduce high-resolution sound and work with personalized Spatial Audio and head tracking; Bluetooth can’t match that due to bandwidth limits. Musicians and audio creators can now use AirPods Max for mixing and monitoring in a way that’s more accurate.

Since Apple has not released full technical details for SPR AVS, this information comes from public industry analysis and early documentation made available to developers. The update is available for newer iPhones and Macs, and the protocol will spread further as Apple will likely replace older tech with SPR AVS and wired lossless options in its future products.