Apple Music Is Adding Hifi Streaming

Apple Music Goes Hifi

APPLE MUSIC announced YESTERDAY (5/17) that it is bringing both spatial audio with DOLBY ATMOS and lossless audio to its music streaming service next month. 

The news was expected, with both AIRPODS PRO and AIRPODS MAX supporting the format. DOLBY ATMOS allows creatives to mix music in a more immersive way. If you have APPLE headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, you’re good to go. So long as a track is recorded in ATMOS, and you have the hardware to support spatial audio, APPLE MUSIC will automatically play the highest-level quality. This goes for the built-in speakers on the latest iPhones, iPad, and Macs as well.

The auto-switching resembles what APPLE already does for the APPLE TV. If you plug a DOLBY ATMOS-compatible soundbar, the streaming box will autoplay in ATMOS wherever possible. APPLE says “thousands of tracks” will be available, with “more added regularly.” Albums that do support DOLBY ATMOS will have a badge on the detail page.

APPLE’s hifi streaming will feature 16-bit at 44.1 kHz, or standard CD-quality audio. That can also go up to 24 bit at 48 kHz on APPLE devices. It’s also offering hi-resolution lossless audio that maxes out at 24 bit at 192 kHz. APPLE is also using ALAC (APPLE LOSSLESS AUDIO CODEC), which it made open source back in 2011. 

All this is coming at no additional cost for APPLE MUSIC subscribers. Previously, it was speculated that hifi streaming would be a feature of an additional subscription tier costing an extra $9.99. Most other hifi streaming services— QOBUZ, DEEZER, AMAZON MUSIC HD — also cost more and have spottier catalogs, with the majority priced at $15 a month and TIDAL MASTERS costing $20 per month.

APPLE MUSIC once again reinforces its ecosystem of products. If you already have compatible AIRPODS, this might entice you to make the switch to APPLE MUSIC if you haven’t already — as it’ll be one of the cheapest services to offer hifi music streaming at $9.99 per month for an individual plan. 

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