Dirac: High-fidelity audio for your smartphone [Resources_Tools & Toys]

In the years since the iPhone was launched, in 2007, smartphone manufacturers have competed primarily on the size and resolution of their screens, touting display capabilities sometimes to the exclusion of anything else. But as mobile display technology matures, manufacturers are looking to other areas to distinguish themselves, such as sound. This is good news for a company like Dirac, which provides algorithmic audio-optimization tools. A few of the bigger brands around the world that already include Dirac's optimizations are Alcatel, Huawei, Infinix, Motorola, and Tecno. So when Dirac offered IEEE Spectrum a chance to try out its demo suite, I took it. I wanted to see if these tools really made a noticeable difference.