Spotify Set To Join The Lossless Music Streaming Game In 2024, What You Need To Know

As the streaming wars continue to heat up, Spotify appears poised to make a significant move in the music industry. After teasing its plans for lossless music streaming a couple of years ago, the platform seems primed to finally deliver on that promise in 2024. While competitors like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal have already ventured into the realm of high-fidelity audio , Spotify's entry could shake up the landscape even further.

Recent revelations from an eagle-eyed Reddit user named 'OhItsTom' have sparked excitement among music enthusiasts. The user shared screenshots of an updated UI from Spotify's app version 1.2.36, hinting at the inclusion of lossless music streaming options. This marks a departure from Spotify's previous bitrate limit of 320kbps, potentially paving the way for a more immersive listening experience.

Lossless music streaming, characterized by high bit-rate audio, allows listeners to enjoy music in its purest form, devoid of compression artifacts that can degrade sound quality. However, this comes at a cost, both in terms of data consumption and device compatibility. According to the leaked screenshots, streaming a minute of audio in lossless format could consume up to 15.9MB of data, highlighting the need for robust internet connections.

While the updated UI is currently disabled for most users, indications suggest that Spotify is gearing up for a gradual rollout across both desktop and mobile platforms. This development signals that lossless audio streaming may soon become a reality for Spotify subscribers, particularly those on premium plans.

Initial reports speculate that the feature could be introduced as part of a premium subscription tier, offering bit rates of up to 24-bit/44.1kHz using the FLAC audio format . However, there are hints that access to lossless music, branded as "Hi-Fi" on Spotify, may be limited to select devices initially, possibly due to hardware constraints. Additionally, offline listening capabilities are expected to be supported, albeit with certain caveats.

It remains to be seen whether Spotify will extend lossless streaming to all premium subscribers or introduce a new subscription tier altogether. Leaked information from 2021 suggested the possibility of a "Supremium" tier, hinting at a premium offering beyond the current subscription model.

As Spotify prepares to dive into the realm of high-fidelity audio, questions linger about the potential impact on the music streaming landscape. Will Hi-Fi music become a niche feature or a game-changer for Spotify? Only time will tell as the platform gears up for its most significant audio upgrade yet.