Research and investigations conducted by Audio Community demonstrates that Apple’s implementation of AAC on iPhones are actually so good that 256 Kbps AAC files seem as transparent, detailed and noise free as 990 Kbps audio transmission offered by Sony’s LDAC on Android phones. You guys can actually see it for yourself that THD+N and TD+N both are incomparable to AAC implementation on Android phones and how do they stack up against LDAC.
I doubt that if the original file is AAC, it gets decompressed and recompressed in the source device. I guess that if the original file is AAC you’re in good luck and you’ll have a better intact AAC file transmitted without recompression. Maybe I’m wrong.