Spotify lossless streaming edges closer with new in-app references to ’24-bit’ and FLAC

2 weeks ago 2

Now it's easier than ever to download Spotify playlists to your Apple Watch | iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, with Spotify app open

After years (and years, and years) of waiting and speculation, Spotify’s long-promised lossless audio feature appears to be inching closer to reality. The latest desktop app builds now show multiple references to “Lossless” streaming, giving users the loudest sign yet that higher-fidelity streaming could soon roll out. Here’s what to expect.

Lossless options appear in streaming settings and Spotify Connect menus

Screenshots shared earlier today by the X account @spicetifyapp, which focuses on Spotify customization tools, show the word “Lossless” popping up in several previously hidden parts of the Spotify interface.

For example, a new “Lossless” quality tier now appears alongside existing streaming options like High and Very High in Spotify’s audio quality settings. One screenshot shows Spotify labeling the new tier as “Up to 1 GB/hour” with playback up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz in FLAC format.

Elsewhere in the app, Spotify’s device connection sidebar (which is used for Spotify Connect) also now references lossless streaming when playing across supported devices.

Enhance your headphones

Alongside the lossless references, Spotify also appears to be testing a feature called “Enhance your headphones.”

Based on current UI strings and onboarding screens seen by Spicetify, the feature seems to involve applying some kind of playback optimization for certain compatible headphones.

Though exact details remain unclear, an onboarding card for the feature says Spotify will use “innovative technology to improve your headphones’ performance,” with a button to “Check compatibility.”

According to Spicetify, this feature (internally codenamed “puffin”) looks likely to be a Premium-only option.

Are you looking forward to these features? Can you tell the difference between lossless and compressed formats? Let us know in the comments.

Via The Verge