Could lossless streaming on Spotify actually be happening this time? We’ve been through so many twists and turns with this saga already, but there’s new cause for hope. Code snippets in recent builds of Spotify for Android yet again tease the possibility of the company’s long-delayed lossless audio coming in the near future.
Chris Welch is a senior reviewer who has worked at The Verge since its founding in 2011. His coverage areas include audio (Sonos, Apple, Bose, Sony, etc.), home theater, smartphones, photography, and more.
After originally being known three years ago as “Spotify HiFi” and then rumored to be part of a more expensive “Supremium” subscription tier, it seems like Spotify has again pivoted on strategy. The code samples indicate that lossless audio will be included in an optional “Music Pro” add-on that will also include the DJ remix features that my colleague Jess Weatherbed covered earlier today. Those will let Spotify subscribers tinker with tracks in a whole new way. So, Music Pro isn’t another plan per se, but something you’ll be able to tack onto Spotify Premium for an as-yet-unknown price.
Do you know more about Spotify Music Pro?
For now, the lengthy wait continues. But someone out there reading this knows the full story. If you’ve got knowledge of Spotify’s plans, screenshots of lossless audio or headphone “optimize” in action, or other relevant information, don’t hesitate to message me confidentially and securely with Signal at @chriswelch.01 / 845-445-8455. Alternatively, you can reach me via email at welch@theverge.com or through Instagram or X / Twitter DM.
I’ve got to shout out Reddit user Hypixely, who has been trudging through a lot of this code to try and piece together Spotify’s plans. You can see some of them for yourself right at this Imgur link. The lossless mentions are very direct — “lossless has arrived” is one snippet — with Spotify supporting “up to 24-bit/44.1kHz” FLAC files.
Intriguingly, Spotify is also planning some kind of headphone optimization feature that uses “patented technology” to enhance sound for specific models, with Apple’s AirPods getting a mention in the code. Hypixely also believes Music Pro will allow more advanced library filtering (by mood, genre, etc.). Spotify is pushing further into AI playlists, but it’s not certain whether those will be part of the Music Pro add-on.
The Verge has reached out to Spotify for comment.
