Spotify announced in 2021 a new HiFi subscription option for higher quality audio, which was one of the most desired additions by customers. However, the functionality was indefinitely delayed. So when is Spotify HiFi coming out?
After years of silence, rumors regarding the new strategy have surfaced. According to Bloomberg, it will be available later this year. It is claimed to be an add-on for existing users, costing roughly $5 per month for enhanced audio as well as new tools and capabilities for playlist creation and library management.
Spotify recently raised its costs in the United States and the United Kingdom, as is customary for streaming services before releasing a change in plans or a major new feature, as seen with Max, Disney+, and Netflix.
This implies that users with a Spotify Premium membership and the lossless audio add-on will pay £16.99/$16.99 per month. This is more expensive than competitors like as Deezer and Tidal, which cost £11.99/$11.99 and £10.99/$10.99, respectively.
We don’t know if this add-on will be offered to customers of Spotify’s free, ad-supported plan.
The original release stated that “premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality,” however we believe this will begin in large nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
Spotify HiFi has been long delayed, as numerous competitor music streaming services, such as Tidal, Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Deezer, offer comparable subscription tiers. In fact, some exceed CD quality (16bit/44kHz) with Hi-Res up to 24bit/192 kHz.
Previously, Spotify’s maximum quality was 320kbps compressed via the Premium membership, but HiFi would upgrade to a CD-quality, lossless audio format available on ‘devices and Spotify Connect-enabled speakers’.
It’s unclear whose speakers will support Spotify HiFi, but the company stated in 2021 that it was “working with some of the world’s biggest speaker manufacturers to make Spotify HiFi accessible to as many fans as possible through Spotify Connect.”
“High-quality audio means more information; without a strong sound system, you will miss out on some details. “It’s really important because we make music that [we] want to be heard in the way that it was made,” Billie Eilish stated during the initial announcement.
