Spotify launches lossless audio for Premium users after years of delay

Spotify has officially confirmed the rollout of lossless audio streaming, ending years of speculation and broken promises. First teased back in 2017 and announced again in 2021, the feature was repeatedly delayed, leaving many sceptical. Now, the company says all Spotify Premium subscribers in select markets will get access over the next two months at no additional cost.

Unlike Apple Music and Tidal, which segment high-quality audio into specific tiers, Spotify is rolling out lossless within the existing Premium plan. The company has confirmed there will be no new HiFi or Music Pro subscription and no changes to current subscription fees.

Markets included in the first wave are Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the US, and the UK, with around 50 countries expected to be covered soon.

Spotify says users will be notified in-app once lossless is available. From there, subscribers can head to the media quality menu in settings and enable lossless. An indicator in the Now Playing bar and the Connect Picker will confirm when lossless streaming is active.

At launch, devices from Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Sennheiser will support lossless playback, while Sonos and Amazon hardware are expected to be compatible starting next month.

Spotify’s lossless audio maxes out at 24-bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC, which is closer to CD-quality. Competing services like Apple Music, Tidal, and Qobuz already offer Hi-Res FLAC up to 24-bit / 192 kHz, though the difference is often negligible to most listeners without high-end audio setups. Still, this cap leaves room for Spotify to launch a potential “deluxe” tier later for serious audiophiles.

The move positions Spotify ahead of YouTube Music, which remains the only major streaming service without lossless support. Google has not indicated any plans to change that.