Spotify HiFi release date: When is Spotify’s lossless tier coming?

Again in February 2021, Spotify made a bold assure to roll out lossless new music streaming before the 12 months was out. Fast ahead more than a yr afterwards, and there is nevertheless no indication of Spotify HiFi. 

So, what is the deal? Spotify has been frustratingly restricted-lipped about the fate of Spotify HiFi, but the corporation has allow slip a couple facts about the lacking assistance. Meanwhile, new rumors implies that Spotify HiFi could continue to see the light of day, and potentially shortly.

Here’s what we know–and do not know–about when Spotify HiFi could possibly ultimately get there.

What is Spotify HiFi?

To start with declared again in February 2021, Spotify HiFi was described as a way for Spotify Premium people to “upgrade their sound quality” to a “CD-good quality, lossless audio format.”

Commonly, “CD-quality” signifies streaming audio encoded with 16-little bit depth and a 44.1kHz sampling fee. 

But the important expression listed here is “lossless,” which indicates that the audio stream contains just the exact sonic depth as its source. 

The key marketing place here is that you’d be listening to the tunes in the precise way the artist intended–and indeed, Spotify posted a video clip in which Billie Eilish and Finneas extolled the virtues of lossless audio streaming.

As it stands, Spotify streams audio at 320Kbps in the “lossy” Ogg Vorbis format, which signifies the audio stream has been compressed and is getting rid of a good sum of depth in the curiosity of conserving bandwidth. 

When will Spotify HiFi arrive out?

The quick remedy is that we really do not know when Spotify HiFi will arrive. Even so, some recent chatter suggests it may perhaps land shortly.

In accordance to a write-up on Reddit, a longtime Spotify user who had lately switched to Apple New music claimed they received a study comprehensive a new plan–“Spotify Platinum”–that features HiFi, as well as other capabilities these types of as “Studio Audio,” a “Headphone Tuner,” “Audio Insights,” “Library Pro,” “Playlist Professional,” and “limited-ad” podcasts, all for an extra charge (additional on that in a instant).

The Redditor claimed the study questioned if they would switch back again to Spotify “in the nest 30 days” for “one of [those] attributes.”

Enjoyable stuff–if it is accurate.

There have been other, preceding hints that Spotify HiFi is nonetheless percolating, which includes a “HiFi” icon spotted in the Spotify app back in Might 2021 and a leaked “Hi, HiFi” online video that created the rounds a couple of months later.

Following months of silence about the issue, Spotify ultimately did communicate up about Spotify HiFi at the starting of 2022, but the vaguely worded statement provided scant details:

We know that HiFi good quality audio is critical to you. We sense the exact same, and we’re energized to supply a Spotify HiFi experience to Top quality end users in the future. But we never have timing facts to share yet. We will of training course update you here when we can.

We achieved out to Spotify shortly immediately after that announcement, but a rep would only say that the corporation did “not have nearly anything even further to share on HiFi further than the exhilaration for the future launch.”

Much more just lately, Spotify HiFi went unmentioned during the streamer’s next-quarter earnings simply call in late July.

We’ve considering that sent abide by-up inquiries, and we’ll update this tale when and if we hear back.

We’ll also keep our ears peeled during Spotify’s future quarterly earnings get in touch with, slated for Oct 25.

How a great deal will Spotify HiFi value?

Again, we don’t know for confident, but in accordance to the “Spotify Platinum” rumor comprehensive above, the purported survey pegged the cost at $19.99 a month, or double the $9.99/month Spotify Personal program. Ouch.

Although Spotify has in no way occur out and mentioned that HiFi would price tag more, the wording of its first announcement–“Premium subscribers in decide on markets will be able to upgrade their sound excellent to Spotify HiFi”–suggests that HiFi is either an increase-on or integrated in a new system, these as the feasible Spotify Platinum tier. 

It is also value noting that Spotify examined CD-high quality audio streams as early as 2017, and at that time, it charged an more $7.50 a thirty day period for the privilege. 

When was Spotify HiFi meant to occur out?

Spotify by no means gave a precise launch date for Spotify HiFi, but in the course of its 2021 announcement, it mentioned the function would get there “later this year” in “select” markets.

Of system, it is truthful to say that Spotify HiFi skipped its launch window by a quite big margin.

Why hasn’t Spotify HiFi come out nevertheless?

Good concern. Again in February, Spotify CEO Daniel Ed blamed “licensing” challenges when asked about the fate of Spotify HiFi in the course of a corporation earnings get in touch with. Here’s the exact estimate, as claimed by TechCrunch:

“Many of the characteristics that we discuss about and specifically that is linked to new music finishes up into licensing,” Ek explained to investors. “So I cannot truly announce any specifics on this other than to say that we’re in regular dialogue with our partners to convey this to market.”

There is a further rationale that Spotify may well have delayed Spotify HiFi: for the reason that it received caught flat-footed by Apple and Amazon.

Just three months right after the Spotify HiFi announcement, Amazon and Apple each introduced (independently, but on the very same day) that they would start out supplying lossless, superior-resolution, and spatial audio music tracks, all for no excess demand. (Apple was fully new to lossless and spatial audio streaming, when Amazon experienced previously been charging extra for lossless and spatial tracks.)

Pursuing the Amazon and Apple announcements, the prospect of spending further (most probably) for only CD-top quality tunes and (in all probability) no spatial audio began to reduce its luster, so probably Spotify chose to retreat and regroup.

Will Spotify HiFi present significant-resolution songs streaming?

Plenty of Spotify’s streaming songs rivals, such as Amazon New music Endless, Apple Tunes, Qobuz, and Tidal, offer “high-resolution” audio streaming–that is, audio that is encoded at a bigger resolution and sampling charge than CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz audio tracks. 

Most market forms agree that 24-bit/48kHz is the threshold for high-resolution audio, and these streamers that guidance it supply significant-res streams all the way up to 24-bit/192kHz.

But Spotify by no means claimed anything at all about large-resolution audio in its preliminary Spotify HiFi announcement all it promised was “CD-quality” audio, which qualifies as “hi-fi” but not “hi-res.” 

As for the “Spotify Platinum” rumors, the purported study helps make point out of a “Studio Sound” element in addition to HiFi. Could “Studio Sound” signify hello-res songs? Hmmm.

In any event, it’s a matter of heated debate irrespective of whether the human ear can basically convey to the variation in between CD-excellent and higher-resolution audio–or for that make a difference, no matter whether most individuals can discern the variation concerning lossy and lossless. We won’t dive into lossy-vs.-lossless rabbit hole here.

Will Spotify HiFi supply spatial audio?

As with substantial-resolution audio, Spotify never ever explained nearly anything about spatial audio–that is, tunes tracks that have been mixed with 3D surround effects–in its Spotify HiFi announcement.

In the meantime, Spotify competitors Amazon Songs, Apple Audio, and Tidal do provide spatial audio tracks in this kind of formats as Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Actuality Audio.

Again, Spotify may in fact have spatial audio designs in the works–and potentially that’s what the “Studio Sound” and/or “Headphone Tuner” options from the Spotify Platinum rumors are all about.

Will Spotify HiFi get cancelled?

Nicely, anything’s doable, and Spotify has been identified to nix substantial-profile features that by no means fairly took off.

For illustration, Spotify not too long ago pulled the plug on Car Thing, a compact touchscreen display that you could put in on a motor vehicle dashboard for on-the-highway Spotify streaming.

For its part, Spotify explained that though Automobile Point “worked as intended,” it chose to halt output of the $80 device owing to “product desire and supply chain troubles,” amid other things.

Spotify also has a background of tests, teasing, and rolling out new attributes that later disappear–or even reappear–without explanation.

But when Spotify appears to be willing to terminate characteristics that are not doing the job, it also likes to experiment, and Spotify HiFi could be a challenge that Spotify is content material to tinker with indefinitely.

For what it is really worth, the formal Spotify HiFi announcement is nevertheless stay on Spotify’s internet site.

Up to date on October 14, 2022 to increase new developments and analysis.