The method of importing the files to the Apple device varies between applications, including Files, as there is currently no official support for doing so. Devices running iOS 11 or above do support FLAC playback natively, through the Files application only. Third-party applications are available from the App Store to play such files without converting them. In order to be played through the iTunes and Music app on iOS, audio files using these lossless codecs may be converted via various third-party tools into ALAC-encoded files with no change in fidelity. Other lossless codecs, such as FLAC and Shorten, are not natively supported by Apple's iTunes nor the later Music app (either the macOS or Windows versions) or by iOS devices running iOS 10 or below. On May 17, 2021, Apple announced that they would begin offering lossless audio in Apple Music in June 2021, with all lossless music being encoded using ALAC. The Apple Lossless Encoder (and decoder) were released as open source software under the Apache License version 2.0 on October 27, 2011. On March 5, 2005, Hammerton published a simple open source decoder written in the C programming language on the basis of the work. The codec is also used in the AirPort and AirPlay implementation.ĭavid Hammerton and Cody Brocious analyzed and reverse engineered the codec without any documents on the format. The data compression software for encoding into ALAC files, Apple Lossless Encoder, was introduced into the Mac OS X Core Audio framework on April 28, 2004, together with the QuickTime 6.5.1 update, thus making it available in iTunes since version 4.5 and above, and its replacement, the Music application. Partly because of the use of an MP4 container, ALAC does not contain integrated error checking. Still the format has been recommended for older iPod devices based on claims of lower power usage. ĪLAC has been measured to require around four times as much CPU power to decode than FLAC does, with implications for battery life on limited-power devices. Testers using a selection of music have found that compressed files are about 40% to 60% the size of the originals depending on the kind of music, which is similar to other lossless formats. CAF file type container, though this is much less common.ĪLAC is not a variant of AAC (which is a lossy format), but rather an unrelated lossless format that uses linear prediction (similar to other lossless codecs).ĪLAC also does not use any DRM scheme but by the nature of the MP4 container, it is feasible that DRM could be applied to ALAC much in the same way it is applied to files in other QuickTime containers.Īccording to Apple, audio files compressed with its lossless codec will use up "about half the storage space" that the uncompressed data would require. This extension is also used by Apple for lossy AAC audio data in an MP4 container (same container, different audio encoding). Codec ĪLAC supports up to 8 channels of audio at 16, 20, 24 and 32 bit depth with a maximum sample rate of 384 kHz.ĪLAC data is frequently stored within an MP4 container with the filename extension. Traditionally, Apple has referred to the codec as Apple Lossless, though more recently it has begun to use the abbreviated term ALAC when referring to the codec. After initially keeping it proprietary from its inception in 2004, in late 2011 Apple made the codec available open source and royalty-free. for lossless data compression of digital music. The Apple Lossless Audio Codec ( ALAC), also known as Apple Lossless, or Apple Lossless Encoder ( ALE), is an audio coding format, and its reference audio codec implementation, developed by Apple Inc.
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