Back in February 2021, Spotify created a bold guarantee to roll out lossless songs streaming prior to the year was out. Fast forward far more than a year later, and there’s however no sign of Spotify HiFi.
So, what is the deal? Spotify has been frustratingly tight-lipped about the destiny of Spotify HiFi, but the corporation has allow slip a handful of details about the missing company. Meanwhile, recent rumors indicates that Spotify HiFi may well nonetheless see the light-weight of working day, and potentially soon.
Here’s what we know–and really do not know–about when Spotify HiFi could possibly finally get there.
What is Spotify HiFi?
Very first announced back again in February 2021, Spotify HiFi was explained as a way for Spotify Top quality consumers to “upgrade their seem quality” to a “CD-high-quality, lossless audio structure.”
Typically, “CD-quality” usually means streaming audio encoded with 16-little bit depth and a 44.1kHz sampling price.
But the vital expression here is “lossless,” which means that the audio stream includes just the similar sonic detail as its supply.
The primary marketing place listed here is that you’d be listening to the tunes in the specific way the artist intended–and without a doubt, 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 structure, which means the audio stream has been compressed and is losing a reasonable quantity of element in the desire of conserving bandwidth.
When will Spotify HiFi appear out?
The short reply is that we don’t know when Spotify HiFi will get there. Nonetheless, some latest chatter implies it may well land soon.
In accordance to a publish on Reddit, a longtime Spotify user who experienced recently switched to Apple Tunes claimed they received a survey comprehensive a new plan–“Spotify Platinum”–that offers HiFi, as nicely as other features these as “Studio Audio,” a “Headphone Tuner,” “Audio Insights,” “Library Professional,” “Playlist Pro,” and “limited-ad” podcasts, all for an more cost (much more on that in a second).
The Redditor explained the survey requested if they would swap again to Spotify “in the nest 30 days” for “one of [those] characteristics.”
Exciting stuff–if it is accurate.
There have been other, preceding hints that Spotify HiFi is still percolating, which includes a “HiFi” icon noticed in the Spotify app back again in May 2021 and a leaked “Hi, HiFi” video that manufactured the rounds a few months later on.
Following months of silence about the challenge, Spotify ultimately did talk up about Spotify HiFi at the starting of 2022, but the vaguely worded assertion presented scant information:
We know that HiFi excellent audio is vital to you. We really feel the same, and we’re excited to deliver a Spotify HiFi encounter to Quality buyers in the future. But we don’t have timing particulars to share nonetheless. We will of training course update you here when we can.
We achieved out to Spotify shortly following that announcement, but a rep would only say that the corporation did “not have anything even further to share on HiFi over and above the exhilaration for the future launch.”
More recently, Spotify HiFi went unmentioned during the streamer’s next-quarter earnings contact in late July.
We’ve given that despatched follow-up inquiries, and we’ll update this story when and if we listen to back again.
We’ll also maintain our ears peeled for the duration of Spotify’s following quarterly earnings call, slated for October 25.
How considerably will Spotify HiFi expense?
Yet again, we never know for absolutely sure, but in accordance to the “Spotify Platinum” rumor thorough earlier mentioned, the purported study pegged the price tag at $19.99 a month, or double the $9.99/month Spotify Person approach. Ouch.
Although Spotify has never ever appear out and reported that HiFi would expense further, the wording of its first announcement–“Premium subscribers in choose markets will be able to up grade their seem excellent to Spotify HiFi”–suggests that HiFi is either an incorporate-on or provided in a new prepare, this kind of as the possible Spotify Platinum tier.
It is also truly worth noting that Spotify examined CD-top quality audio streams as early as 2017, and at that time, it billed an further $7.50 a month for the privilege.
When was Spotify HiFi supposed to arrive out?
Spotify never gave a precise release date for Spotify HiFi, but for the duration of its 2021 announcement, it explained the attribute would get there “later this year” in “select” markets.
Of class, it is good to say that Spotify HiFi missed its start window by a quite big margin.
Why has not Spotify HiFi appear out still?
Great question. Back in February, Spotify CEO Daniel Ed blamed “licensing” problems when requested about the destiny of Spotify HiFi in the course of a organization earnings get in touch with. Here’s the exact quotation, as described by TechCrunch:
“Many of the capabilities that we discuss about and particularly which is related to audio finishes up into licensing,” Ek explained to buyers. “So I can’t truly announce any specifics on this other than to say that we’re in regular dialogue with our companions to provide this to sector.”
There is a further reason that Spotify may have delayed Spotify HiFi: due to the fact it got caught flat-footed by Apple and Amazon.
Just a few months soon after the Spotify HiFi announcement, Amazon and Apple both equally announced (separately, but on the exact day) that they would commence offering lossless, significant-resolution, and spatial audio new music tracks, all for no extra cost. (Apple was completely new to lossless and spatial audio streaming, while Amazon experienced beforehand been charging added for lossless and spatial tracks.)
Adhering to the Amazon and Apple announcements, the prospect of having to pay added (most probable) for only CD-high-quality tunes and (in all probability) no spatial audio started to drop its luster, so probably Spotify selected to retreat and regroup.
Will Spotify HiFi offer superior-resolution audio streaming?
Loads of Spotify’s streaming music rivals, together with Amazon Audio Limitless, Apple Songs, Qobuz, and Tidal, provide “high-resolution” songs streaming–that is, audio that is encoded at a larger resolution and sampling price than CD-excellent 16-little bit/44.1kHz audio tracks.
Most market varieties concur that 24-bit/48kHz is the threshold for superior-resolution audio, and those people streamers that help it provide significant-res streams all the way up to 24-bit/192kHz.
But Spotify never reported nearly anything about higher-resolution audio in its initial 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 survey will make point out of a “Studio Sound” attribute in addition to HiFi. Could “Studio Sound” signify hi-res audio? Hmmm.
In any function, it’s a subject of heated debate regardless of whether the human ear can in fact convey to the change in between CD-high-quality and high-resolution audio–or for that issue, irrespective of whether most individuals can discern the difference between lossy and lossless. We won’t dive into lossy-vs.-lossless rabbit hole here.
Will Spotify HiFi provide spatial audio?
As with large-resolution audio, Spotify by no means stated everything about spatial audio–that is, tunes tracks that have been mixed with 3D surround effects–in its Spotify HiFi announcement.
Meanwhile, Spotify competitors Amazon Audio, Apple Music, and Tidal do supply spatial audio tracks in such formats as Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Actuality Audio.
Once more, Spotify might in fact have spatial audio plans in the works–and maybe that is what the “Studio Sound” and/or “Headphone Tuner” attributes from the Spotify Platinum rumors are all about.
Will Spotify HiFi get cancelled?
Perfectly, anything’s attainable, and Spotify has been recognised to nix higher-profile features that never ever quite took off.
For instance, Spotify lately pulled the plug on Vehicle Issue, a smaller touchscreen exhibit that you could put in on a car or truck dashboard for on-the-road Spotify streaming.
For its element, Spotify said that although Auto Detail “worked as supposed,” it selected to halt creation of the $80 system owing to “product demand from customers and source chain problems,” among other factors.
Spotify also has a record of tests, teasing, and rolling out new features that later disappear–or even reappear–without clarification.
But though Spotify appears eager to terminate functions that are not doing work, it also likes to experiment, and Spotify HiFi could be a undertaking that Spotify is material to tinker with indefinitely.
For what it’s worth, the official Spotify HiFi announcement is even now live on Spotify’s web site.
Up to date on October 14, 2022 to insert new developments and investigation.
