I'm not sure if it is just me, but I frequently witness a war between Apple Music and Spotify in the spaces I exist in in the social media space. While most people seem to prefer Spotify, the one trump card that Apple Music seems to have is that the music simply sounds better.
That comes down to the fact that Apple Music has support for lossless audio, which sounds a lot better than whatever Spotify gives us to listen to. Spotify HiFi was supposed to materialize in 2021, but even up to now, it hasn't. However, some UI elements are hidden in the app and they give us some insight into what we can expect.
Here's A Look At Some Interface Frames For Spotify HiFi
The wait for Spotify HiFi has been an arduous one for those of us who love our music to sound as good as it can. It particularly sucks because I enjoy using Spotify over other music services, but I won't like that I've felt tempted to leave solely for something with higher-quality tracks.
Thanks to Reddit user OhitsTom, we've been able to see a bunch of user interface elements related to Spotify HiFi, and they're able to give us a little more information on what we can expect from the plan when it finally shows up 15 years from now.
Based on the screenshots above, which are pulled from the mobile app, it seems Spotify HiFi is going to become Spotify Lossless. You'll be able to stream up to 24-bit audio on your phone and connected devices. You'll see a “Lossless” label when the track that you're listening to supports the higher standard, so you'll know when you hear the difference.
On the Spotify desktop app, you'll be able to view your Spotify Lossless details in a panel on the side, which OhitsTom was also able to give us a look at.
There are a bunch of insights we can get from these few screenshots. First off, you will need to be using a compatible device through a compatible connection with the right speed. However, you'll also be able to download lossless music to your smartphone and listen offline, which sounds great.
The “Very High” audio quality setting is the current max, but Lossless will supersede that. Lossless should offer a bitrate up to 2,117 kbps — though another UI element says 1,411 kbps — either way, that's much higher than the current 320 kbps limit. Lossless will be 24-bit and in the FLAC file format.
No One Knows When Spotify Lossless Is Coming, But Maybe Soon?
All this buzz and excitement is being driven up around Spotify's Lossless plan, but nobody can even tell us when to expect its arrival. This was a feature that was meant to arrive in 2021 and we're almost halfway through 2024 without any sign of it.
However, considering this is the first time we've actually seen anything regarding the feature built-in, it might mean that it is finally on its way. I'll say the end of the year to give the company enough time to beat my prediction. Otherwise, I might just finally pitch my camp with a lossless alternative.
