Spotify announced on Wednesday, September 10, that it has officially begun rolling out its long-awaited Lossless Listening feature to Premium subscribers in select markets. The feature allows users to stream music in 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC, the least compressed and highest-resolution audio format, which aims to deliver audio that sounds richer than regular audio.
“The wait is finally over; we’re so excited that lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers,” said Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP Subscriptions, Spotify, in a news release. “We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritises quality, ease of use, and clarity at every step, so you always know what’s happening under the hood. With Lossless, our premium users will now have an even better listening experience.”
What is lossless audio?
Spotify’s Lossless Listening feature, or lossless audio, refers to compressed files that preserve all the original audio of the recording information, according to audio tech brand Sonos.
Spotify provides custom settings options for Wi-Fi, cellular, and downloads, allowing users to choose between low, normal, high, and very high quality. Users can also see how much data each requires.
The feature is available on mobile, desktop, and tablet, as well as on many devices that support Spotify Connect, including Sony, Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser, and more.
When will Lossless Listening be activated?
Spotify has begun rolling out the Lossless Listening feature to Premium listeners in select markets. Subscribers will receive a notification when the feature becomes available to them, the company informed.
Lossless feature will be enabled in more than 50 markets through October. Premium subscribers in Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the US, and the UK have already started to get access.
How to activate Lossless Listening?
To enable lossless audio in the Spotify app, follow the steps mentioned below—
Step 1: Tap on the profile icon in the top left.
Step 2: Go to ‘Settings & Privacy’ and then ‘Media Quality’.
Step 3: Select where you want to enable lossless audio. Options include Wi-Fi, cellular, and downloads.
Users will be required to enable the lossless feature manually on each device. After activating the feature, the lossless indicator will appear in the Now Playing view or bar, and through the Connect Picker.
“For the smoothest and best listening experience, we recommend streaming lossless music on Wi-Fi using wired headphones or speakers on a non-Bluetooth connection, like Spotify Connect. Currently, Bluetooth doesn’t provide enough bandwidth to transmit lossless audio, so the signal has to be compressed before being sent,” Spotify noted.
Spotify cautioned that lossless audio files are larger and incorporate every detail of the original music file. As a result, tracks may take a moment to start playing once the feature is enabled.
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