It’s been years since Spotify announced its lossless audio integration. Since then, we’ve had yearly speculation, but no confirmed date on when lossless was coming. Other streaming services like Apple Music and Amazon Music took this opportunity to quickly switch over their entire music libraries to not only lossless streaming, but hi-res as well. Now, after years of anticipation, Spotify lossless officially looks ready to go. This comes as an official announcement from Spotify’s VP Gustav Gyllenhammar, who said:
“The wait is finally over; we’re so excited lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers. We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritizes quality, ease of use, and clarity at every step.”
Spotify also rolled out a personalized announcement to all of its users via the app itself, which made me more confident that this was a more serious announcement than past updates.
What is Spotify Lossless?
Lossless audio means tracks are delivered without compression, preserving every detail of the original recording. On Spotify, this translates to up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC streaming, which ensures a more immersive and detailed listening experience. It is not yet known if Spotify plans on allowing hi-res sample rates beyond 44.1Khz.
The new feature joins Spotify’s growing suite of Premium offerings. Subscribers already benefit from innovations such as DJ and AI-powered Playlist tools, which let listeners discover new music effortlessly. Spotify’s Jam feature makes collaborative listening seamless, while Daylist and curated Mixes provide fresh playlists that evolve with a user’s mood and listening habits. On top of that, the platform’s editorial playlists curated by Spotify’s global music team remain a central draw for millions of fans around the world.
How to Enable Spotify Lossless
Activating lossless audio on Spotify is straightforward. Premium users simply need to open the app and tap on their profile icon in the top left corner. From there, they can navigate to Settings & Privacy, and then to Media Quality. Within this menu, users can choose to enable Lossless for Wi-Fi streaming, cellular streaming, and downloads, depending on their preferences.
Once the feature is turned on, a Lossless indicator will appear in the Now Playing screen or the Connect Picker, confirming that music is streaming in the highest quality available.
Supported Devices
Spotify Lossless is available across mobile, desktop, and tablet, and it also works on a wide range of Spotify Connect-enabled devices. At launch, it supports major brands including Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Sennheiser, giving listeners flexibility in how they enjoy their upgraded audio.
Support is also expanding further. Spotify has confirmed that Sonos and Amazon devices will gain compatibility starting next month, ensuring that even more home audio setups can take full advantage of the new lossless format.
Where is Spotify Lossless Available?
The rollout of Spotify Lossless is happening gradually across more than 50 markets through October. As of now, Premium subscribers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Czechia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and New Zealand are already gaining access to the feature. More countries will follow in the coming weeks, expanding the reach of lossless streaming to millions of users around the world.
Final Thoughts
The launch of Spotify Lossless marks a major milestone for the world’s leading music streaming platform. Premium subscribers can now experience their favorite songs with unmatched clarity while still enjoying Spotify’s powerful discovery features and innovative tools. On the other hand, Spotify has been behind on lossless long enough to not really matter to their core user base. If it did, chances are they already moved on to Apple Music or Tidal. Add to that the further controversial practices that the company participates in, including unfair artist compensation and generative AI content starting to flood the platform. Introducing lossless streaming might not convince you that Spotify is worth going back to.
Compare the ranking of various headphones, earbuds and in-ear monitors using our tools.
Discuss this, and much more, over on our forum.
---MAJORHIFI may receive commissions from retail offers.
