Spotify will finally offer lossless HD music playback this year, with the introduction of a new Spotify HiFi subscription level.
The upgrade offers CD-quality streaming, similar to what is already offered by tide and Amazon Music HDand could deal a blow Apple Music – One of the few streaming services left with no HD audio option.
Spotify will be “launched in selected markets later this year” explained at its Stream On event and will deliver music in a lossless high definition format. As with other HD audio streaming services, you don’t need hi-fi equipment to play.
Spotify HiFi will be compatible with Spotify Connect devices such as smart TVs. However, Spotify said it will work to “bring Spotify HiFi to as many fans as possible through Spotify Connect,” suggesting that not all devices have this feature at startup.
HD lossless audio is spared the quality-reducing compression of “lossy” formats like Apple’s favorite AAC, so many listeners think that it sounds clearer and more detailed.
It wasn’t previously in the Spotify toolbox. Hence, this announcement is likely to go down well with the audiophile sections of the service’s massive user base, even if the price and release date are unknown.
As with Amazon Music HD, Spotify HiFi appears to require a separate, probably more expensive, subscription to the existing $ 10 per month premium tier. And not every song currently in the Spotify library will be available in HD format.
Given the size of this library, it’s probably a good bet that Spotify HiFi will at some point receive a catalog of lossless songs that rivals the more established Amazon Music HD and Tidal.
Spotify also stated, “HiFi will be connected to the seamless Spotify user experience. This builds on our commitment to ensuring that users can hear the music they love, the way they want to enjoy it. ”This brings familiar features like personalized playlists, offline playback and easy music sharing to Spotify HiFi .
Hopefully more details will be revealed shortly as Spotify HiFi emerges as an exciting (if long overdue) addition to music streaming.
This is also a warning for Apple Music: Cupertino’s music service has long been slated to have a lossless streaming option. However, Apple has to be quick to not be left behind with HD audio.
