Apple Music might beat Spotify to the punch with Hi-Fi audio on Android

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:

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.