What you need to know
- Apple Music is reportedly preparing to introduce "lossless" audio for the mobile app.
- The feature is likely to coincide with the launch of a new pair of Apple Airpods expected to arrive next week.
- The Android beta version of Apple Music suggests two versions of lossless audio will be released for the app.
Apple Music is preparing to launch new "lossless" audio tiers, according to an app teardown by 9to5Google. The feature was previously hinted at for the iOS version of the app, but the Android version will apparently receive this feature as well.
According to the Apple Music beta on Android, two tiers of lossless audio are launching on the app: "Lossless" at 24-bit/48 kHz and "High-Res Lossless" at 24-bit/192 kHz. Both will make use of Apple's ALAC codec.
In its current form, Apple Music only features two options for audio playback; "high efficiency" for reduced data usage and "high quality" for better playback at higher data use. According to 9to5Google, Apple also includes the following data warnings for lossless playback:
Lossless streaming will consume significantly more data. A 3-minute song will be approximate: – 1.5 MB with high efficiency- 6 MB with high quality at 256 kbps- 36 MB with lossless at 24-bit/48 kHz- 145 MB with hi-res lossless at 24-bit/192 kHzSupport varies and depends on song availability, network conditions, and connected speaker or headphone capability.
Bringing high-fidelity music streaming to the Apple Music app will help the platform compete with some of the best music streaming apps on Android like Amazon Music HD. Spotify has also announced Hi-Fi audio playback for its platform, although it's not expected until later this year.
If Apple does release lossless audio soon, it could coincide with the rumored launch of new AirPods that are expected to arrive on May 18. Interestingly, that's the same day that Google I/O 2021 is scheduled to commence, so Apple may be trying to steal some of Google's thunder, especially since Google is rumored to launch its own lower-cost Pixel Buds A at the event.
It's just as good, maybe better.
Apple is one of the pioneers of portable music playback, and it brings that expertise into its Apple Music application for Android. It offers a similar monthly price as many other streaming music services and comes with high-quality audio playback quick can be streamed from devices like Google Audio.
