So why did they not enable it on the A30 series as well at the same time as the WM series? The A series follows a yearly product cycle whereas the ZX and WM series don't at least so far. Look how long the gap was between the ZX100 and ZX300 releases and no word on a 2018 updated WM model. My guess is Sony chose to include and activate AptX support on the WM series now to keep from losing sales to new high end models from other manufacturers being released. My guess is we won't be seeing an updated WM model for awhile if at all and activating AptX support on the WM offers a bit of a refresh in the interim to keep up demand. As for not mentioning AptX support for the WM models Sony opened up licensing of the LDAC code to outside manufacturers last year. I am willing to bet Sony hoped LDAC would be more widely adopted by now. Since it hasn't Sony hedged their bets and activated it on the WM series now to keep up sales. If Sony had mentioned the AptX support would be activated in a later firmware update in the product info owners may have delayed buying it until AptX was activated. Activating AptX now with no prior mention makes it look like a surprise bonus at a time when new DAP's from other manufacturers are hitting the market. Sony also avoided being hounded by potential owners of the WM series wanting AptX to be activated before they were ready to.
Why include AptX support on the A30 series and then wait until the A40 series is released to activate it? If Sony could activate AptX on the A30 series by now they would have done it before the A40 series was released. Sony wants the A30 series cleared out of the market to make way for the A40 series and won't do anything to prolong the A30 series lifecycle by activating AptX now.
Well, it's obviously a matter of speculation.
Your points are well reasoned, but it's based on speculation. The truth is, only some people at Sony know why they took so long to enable AptX (and AptX HD) on the WM1Z/A, and I think your guess is a pretty good one...
...but it could also be that we don't know about some deal Sony made (formally or perhaps informally) to enable AptX on any current players that have the chip, and the A30 series, in the US, is still a current version.
It is strange that the A10, A20, and now the A40 have AptX, and yet the WM1 did not, and the A30 series still does not, given that the WM1 and A30 came out in the same year -- it makes me think that given their history supporting AptX (and so obviously having the chip) and the WM1 getting AptX later, and thus proving it at least had the Qualcomm chip all along, that it's highly likely that the A30 series has the chip, too -- but I'll agree that it's unknown as to whether Sony thinks its necessary to enable it or hope it drives up sales of the A40, but I tend to doubt the latter, myself.
It's not like the A40 series is even readily available in the US, either. I did a search for it and found only a few places to even purchase it, and I'm not even convinced that any of those selling are US versions.
B&H still lists it as "pre-order." Accessory Jack is selling the Asia Pacific version.
And Sony itself, when you click on "Where to Buy" from the official product page, returns this sad, sad message -- granted they kind of stink at listing online retailers with stock, but my own independent search yielded nothing from major retailers, including those who still carry the A30 series (and sometimes even the A20 series):
https://www.sony.com/electronics/walkman/nw-a40-series/buy
EDIT:
if they decided to enable it across the line (which would just leave the A30 series out currently), it's no surprise to me that they would
first do it for the WM1, since that's a flagship, so that would explain to me why they haven't released it for the A30 at the same time.
![IMG_20171125_110825[1].jpg](https://cdn.head-fi.org/a/10033622.jpg "IMG_20171125_110825[1].jpg")
