For years, Spotify users have been waiting for the platform to deliver on its promise of high-fidelity, lossless audio streaming. Now, a new leak suggests that 2024 could be the year this long-awaited feature becomes a reality. The leak, which surfaced on Reddit and was later reported by The Verge, indicates a potential rebrand from the previously announced "HiFi" to a more universally recognized term, "Lossless."
The leak includes screenshots from what is claimed to be version 1.2.36 of Spotify's Windows app, where a new 'Lossless' streaming quality option appears, described as offering up to 2,117kbps and consuming about 15.9 megabytes per minute. This is a significant upgrade from the current highest setting of 320kbps. The quality improvement is facilitated by the 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC format, renowned for its ability to deliver crystal clear sound without any compression losses.
However, there are limitations noted within the app, indicating that lossless audio would only be available on a limited selection of songs and advising users that the highest quality would be experienced via a wired connection due to Bluetooth's limitations in supporting full lossless audio.
Despite these promising details, the leak also suggests that the feature is not yet operational, as it is reportedly present in the app's interface but non-functional, adding another layer of uncertainty for eager Spotify enthusiasts.
Spotify first announced plans to introduce a lossless audio option, Spotify HiFi, back in February 2021 with a slated release for later that year. However, after numerous delays and vague updates, the feature remained elusive. Even talks in 2022 about a "Supremium" tier that would include lossless audio have yet to materialize into a tangible service.
Should Spotify finally launch lossless audio, it would be entering a market where several major competitors, including Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, and Pandora, already offer high-fidelity streaming options. Apple Music, notably, made its lossless feature available just a month after announcing it in May 2021, and unlike the proposed Spotify offering, it did not require an additional subscription cost.
As the audio streaming landscape continues to evolve, Spotify users and audiophiles worldwide are keeping their fingers crossed that 2024 will be the year they finally get to experience Spotify's high-quality lossless audio streaming.
