2021 will have been the year that Apple finally embraced lossless music streaming and prices for hi-fi listening came down at Amazon and Tidal. But the biggest subscription music service of all, Spotify, seems likely to miss its original target for launching a higher-quality streaming plan.
Spotify HiFi, first announced all the way back in February, has yet to roll out despite the companyโs early estimate that it would debut โlater this year.โ At the time, Spotify said HiFi would be available in select markets and that the company would โhave more details to share soon.โ
Over the next 10 months, those details never came.
Meanwhile, Spotifyโs competitors didnโt wait around. Apple Music rolled out lossless and hi-res playback in June, offering the improved audio quality at no extra charge. Before that shift, services like Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal had been demanding an added premium for the feature. But on the same day that Apple announced its plans for lossless streaming, Amazon said it would ditch the higher subscription price and include HD quality as part of the regular premium plan. Itโs officially table stakes now.
There have been occasional signs of Spotify HiFi throughout the year; a โHiFiโ button could (very briefly) be spotted in the app back in May โ complete with explainers on using the feature. And an onboarding video for HiFi was leaked in August.
Spotify HiFi could be near.
Open the iOS app and QUICKLY maximize the song title bar at the bottom: see that โHiFiโ icon that briefly appears at the bottom right corner?
If you manage to tap it in time, it shows these explainer menus. pic.twitter.com/xAhdInzY7c
โ Chris Welch (@chriswelch) May 18, 2021
As 2021 stretched on, Spotify had a lot to say about podcasts but kept mum on the subject of HiFi and declined comment whenever The Verge asked about its status. Barring a last-minute holiday surprise, it seems weโll be waiting until sometime in 2022 for Spotify HiFi. Hugely popular platforms tend to avoid launching major new features at the tail end of the year.
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Do you know more about the delay of Spotify HiFi? Reach out to me at welch@theverge.com, via Twitter DMs @chriswelch, or message me securely through Signal at 845-445-8455. You can also always use SecureDrop or Signal to send messages and files to The Verge without revealing your identity.
Itโs possible that Spotify has had second thoughts about launching the feature โ or at least is no longer in a rush to deliver it. You could argue that the company doesnโt need to bother with HiFi at all. Spotify already enjoys powerful mindshare with consumers for its playlist algorithms and user experience; the recent wave of Spotify Wrapped posts across social media was another fresh reminder of that.
Plus, thereโs no longer any financial incentive. Apple has essentially forced Spotifyโs hand to offer CD-quality streaming without wringing more money from customers. And if itโs not contributing to the bottom line, whatโs the point? Thereโs also the possibility that Spotify ran into a legal quagmire in trying to update its music deals for HiFi.
Lossless music is fundamentally a niche feature thatโs at odds with how music is often consumed these days. In a world of Bluetooth headphones and earbuds, Apple and Amazon are far more interested in hyping spatial Dolby Atmos audio than higher-bitrate streams that only shine on expensive gear. Even then, some people just canโt distinguish it from the standard, lossy quality theyโve been listening to for years. Spotify has yet to confirm whether it too will offer Atmos tracks โ or even hi-res audio that exceeds 16-bit/44.1kHz.
Personally, I still hope Spotify HiFi does eventually launch. Thereโs a significant ecosystem of speaker hardware thatโs compatible with Spotify Connect, making it easier and more convenient to enjoy the extra fidelity. And as we progress further into the streaming era, it feels like the option to enjoy music at higher quality should be there for those who want it.
The Verge has reached out to Spotify for an update on where things stand with HiFi as 2021 comes to a close.
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