Spotify’s lossless tier could be closer than ever.
Key Takeaways
- Spotify might finally be releasing its lossless audio tier this year after years of anticipation, with leaks hinting at high streaming quality.
- Spotify's possible lossless streaming options include up to 2117 kbps and FLAC quality at 24-bit/44.1kHz, but actual release date remains unknown.
- Other streaming services like Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, and TIDAL have already offered lossless audio, leaving Spotify users eagerly waiting.
This morning, The Verge reported that a Redditor has leaked images of Spotify's UI for lossless audio. These leaks come after many, many years of Spotify saying lossless is coming, with no indication of when it'll actually come. The Redditor who leaked this, u/OhItsTom, thinks this means it'll be "definitely this year," according to a comment left on the post.
In one screenshot, the UI shows a lossless streaming quality option of up to 1,440 kbps, significantly higher than Spotify's current cap of 320 kbps. In the next screenshot, it shows streaming quality up to 2117 kbps, and FLAC quality streaming at 24-bit/44.1kHz, which it says will be available for limited songs.
The leaks also show a compatibility checker to tell the user if their device, connection type, and bandwidth allows them to play lossless audio, along with information boxes about the conditions for lossless listening, including that Bluetooth devices won't fully support lossless audio.
Other commenters were able to access the same information when following the instructions provided by u/OhItsTom, but were unable to play any audio, so it's all visual for now. According to the leaker, Spotify employees are able to use lossless audio, and we've heard as much in previous reporting.
Whether or not this actually means that Spotify will be releasing their lossless tier this year remains to be seen, since there are no actual indicators in the leaked screenshots of when it'll be released. We've now seen it change from being referred to as Spotify Hi-Fi, to other leaks reported on by The Verge in 2021 showing a very expensive "Supremium" tier that would include lossless audio for $19.99, to more recent leaks from April 2024 showing an add-on called "Music Pro" which would include lossless audio and other features like remixing.
Now that we're seeing actual UI leaks, we could be closer than ever to actually getting lossless audio, many years after other streaming services already launched it.
Now that we're seeing actual UI leaks, we could be closer than ever to actually getting lossless audio, many years after other streaming services already launched it. For reference, Amazon Music Unlimited has had lossless audio since 2019, available as part of its regular subscription plan for $9.99 per month, Apple Music added it in 2021 as part of its $10.99 base subscription, and TIDAL added it in 2021 as well as part of its $20 HiFi Plus tier, though Tidal recently merged lossless audio into its base plan, making it more accessible at $10.99 per month.
Hopefully we will get more information soon from Spotify on when lossless is coming and how much it'll cost, and get more information on if it even ends up being part of a different paid tier for Spotify premium. Spotify has been seriously lagging behind on getting lossless audio to its users, and people are getting antsy. Will 2024 be the year we finally see it happen?
