After years of anticipation, Spotify has finally launched its lossless, high-quality audio streaming feature, and it is included at no extra cost for Premium subscribers.
The long-awaited feature, aptly named Spotify Lossless, began its rollout several days ago. The service is first becoming available to users in several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand, and Czechia. The company plans to expand access to Premium subscribers in over 50 markets worldwide by the end of October.
Unlike some earlier reports that suggested it would be a separate paid add on, Spotify Lossless is part of the existing Premium plan, which costs Php169 per month. A company executive confirmed the feature is a permanent inclusion and not a limited time offer.
To use the new feature, subscribers must enable it manually within the app’s settings on each device. The steps are to tap the profile icon, go to Settings and Privacy, select Media Quality, and then toggle on lossless audio for WiFi, cellular data, or downloads. A small indicator will appear on the playing screen to confirm when a song is streaming in lossless quality.
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This new tier offers music in the FLAC format at up to 24 bit and 44.1 kHz, which is a significant jump in audio detail and clarity compared to standard streaming. However, Spotify notes that for the best experience, users should listen with wired headphones or speakers on a WiFi connection. Because of current bandwidth limitations, Bluetooth connections will still compress the audio signal, meaning listeners using wireless headphones will not hear a true lossless stream. Depending on the internet speed, songs might also take a moment longer to start as the device buffers the larger audio files.
Spotify is also providing clear data usage estimates for the new option. Lossless quality consumes significantly more data than the standard “high” quality setting, so users on limited cellular plans may want to enable it only for Wi Fi listening.
The feature is supported on mobile phones, desktops, and tablets, as well as on many Spotify Connect compatible devices from brands like Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser, and Sony. Support for Sonos and Amazon devices is scheduled to be added next month.