After years of anticipation, Spotify is finally bringing lossless audio streaming to its users. This long-awaited upgrade is a major step forward for sound quality on the platform, but there are some important things to keep in mind before switching it on. Here’s a breakdown of the essentials.
1. The rollout has begun, but it’s limited
Lossless streaming is gradually being introduced to Spotify Premium members. A handful of regions already have access, including the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and Czechia. More than 50 countries are expected to receive the update by the end of October, though Spotify hasn’t confirmed the full list yet.
2. Audio quality improves—but isn’t the best available
Spotify’s new tier streams in FLAC at up to 24-bit/44.1kHz. That’s technically better than CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz), and nearly every track in the library is included.
However, some rivals still go further. Both Apple Music and Tidal offer lossless streaming at up to 24-bit/192kHz across their entire catalogs. While Spotify’s improvement is significant, it doesn’t quite reach the same ceiling.
3. Compatible with Spotify Connect
You can enjoy Lossless not only through Spotify’s apps on desktop, tablet, and mobile but also via devices that support Spotify Connect. That includes major brands like Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, and Samsung, with Sonos and Amazon compatibility arriving next month.
Bluetooth streaming, however, remains a challenge. Most current codecs can’t transmit full lossless quality, so the audio is compressed before being sent. Support for newer technologies such as aptX Lossless may eventually fix this, but it’s not widely available yet.
4. You’ll need to turn it on manually
Unlike Apple Music, where lossless playback is enabled by default, Spotify requires users to activate it in the settings menu. To do this, tap your profile picture, go into Settings and Privacy, then select Media Quality. The Lossless option will appear alongside the existing Low, Normal, High, and Very High choices for both streaming and downloads.
5. Expect heavier data and storage use
High-quality audio comes at a cost. Streaming in Lossless consumes around 1GB of data per hour, and downloaded files are larger as well. While the upgrade will make music sound richer and more detailed, you may want to be cautious if you’re on a limited data plan or have restricted storage space.
In short: Spotify Lossless is finally here, offering a big leap in audio quality. It won’t quite rival the very highest-resolution formats from Apple Music and Tidal, but for most listeners, it represents a long-overdue improvement in how their favorite songs sound.
thetechtrident.com 