Spotify has introduced lossless audio streaming after years of delays, confirming that the feature will be included in its existing Premium plan at no extra cost.
The company announced that subscribers in 50 markets, including the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia, will gain access to lossless audio over the next two months. Other countries will follow later.
Unlike earlier speculation, Spotify will not create a separate HiFi or premium-priced tier. Instead, all Premium users will be able to turn on lossless audio in their app settings once the update reaches their account. The feature will be clearly marked with an indicator in the Now Playing bar and on compatible hardware.
At launch, devices from Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Sennheiser will support lossless playback. Sonos and Amazon devices are expected to gain compatibility next month.
Spotify’s lossless streams will use the FLAC format at up to 24-bit / 44.1 kHz. This falls short of Apple Music, Tidal, and Qobuz, which offer higher-resolution formats up to 24-bit / 192 kHz. While the difference may not be noticeable to most listeners, the move could allow Spotify to introduce higher tiers in the future.
With this rollout, YouTube Music is now the only major streaming service without lossless audio support. Google has given no indication that it plans to add the feature.
