r/macbook • u/LucidMacApp • 1h ago
I wanted LDAC on my MacBook, so I ended up building my first app (7 free license keys)
Hi everyone :)
After moving, I ended up with a MacBook, an iPhone, and my Sony WH-1000XM3s. I liked my Apple setup. I loved the headphones too. Then I ran into one small thing that bothered me much more than I expected: I couldn’t use LDAC with them on my MacBook.
For anyone unfamiliar with it, LDAC is one of the codecs used to send audio over Bluetooth. My headphones supported it, but I couldn’t select it on my Mac. The headphones worked, of course. I just wanted the choice to use a feature they already had.
I looked into workarounds and external transmitters. I know a dongle is a perfectly reasonable solution, but I really didn’t want another thing sticking out of my laptop just to listen to music. I wanted to open an app, connect my headphones, and listen.
I couldn’t find a solution that suited my setup, so eventually I thought, okay, I’m a developer. Maybe I can build it myself.
That’s how Lucid started. A small personal frustration somehow became my first commercial app.
Lucid lets you use LDAC or aptX HD with compatible Bluetooth headphones on an Apple silicon Mac. You can choose the codec, bitrate, and sample rate in the app. The video shows it with my XM3s.
It’s still a young project. The early release had some rough edges, and feedback from people trying it has helped me improve startup, removal, and diagnostics. There are now help cards with things to check if something goes wrong, and you can send me a diagnostic report directly from the app.
You can find it at https://lucidcore.app.
It needs an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 14.2 or later. There’s a free 3-hour trial, and a lifetime license normally costs $9.99, with no subscription. I’m the developer, so yes, this is my own paid app.
I’d like to give seven people here a free lifetime license. If you’d like one, please send me a private message. You’re welcome to try the free trial first and ask for a key afterwards. I’d love to hear how it works with your MacBook and headphones, but feedback is completely optional. You don’t owe me a review in exchange for a key.
Before anyone installs it, there’s something I want to be upfront about. Lucid uses a privileged system helper for its Bluetooth functionality, so the installer asks for administrator permission. If you decide it isn’t for you, choose “Remove Lucid” in the Lucid Installer-Uninstaller to remove the app and its helper. Keep system Bluetooth on during removal.
I’m keeping my own source code closed for now because I hope to make a living from building software. This is my first commercial project, though, and I don’t have an established reputation or years of happy customers to point to yet. I understand that asking someone to install unfamiliar software, especially something that needs administrator permission, is asking for trust.
So if you don’t feel comfortable doing that, that’s okay. Really. It’s your Mac, and being careful makes sense. I just hope you can understand my side too: I made something I wanted to use myself, and I’d love to keep improving it for other people. I know that trust will have to come from what I do over time.
I’d be interested to hear how other MacBook owners handle this. Do you use the default Bluetooth setup, an external transmitter, or a wired connection? Was codec support something you thought about when choosing your headphones?
