Rejoice, all ye audiophiles on the move who think Neil Young’s Pono music player is not snakeoil, but still want better audio from your mobile phone, and not from a standalone music player. Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore recently tweeted that Windows 10 for phones will feature support for the FLAC lossless audio format. This is in addition to what we already know; Windows 10 – the desktop one, that is – will also support FLAC.
So what exactly is FLAC? The simple answer is that if you didn’t already know about it, you probably don’t need it. FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, an audio standard that is quite similar to the ubiquitous MP3 yet compresses audio without any loss in its quality. This means a better and crisper listening experience for the discerning music lover, but it also comes with its downsides. FLAC files are harder to find and larger in size compared to MP3s, making them the preserve of only the most discerning audiophiles. You will also need high-end headphones to complement it, and/or a DAC (digital to analogue converter).
