When Will Spotify HiFi Come Out?
Remember when Spotify announced lossless streaming? No? Don’t worry, we sort of forgot too. If you have been wondering when Spotify HiFi will come out, we’ve got some info!
Just shy of a year ago, Spotify shared the news of its plans to make CD quality audio available to its listeners. As the largest music streaming platform in the world, Spotify has drawn the most ardent audiophiles away from physical formats. The draw of a huge library of over 40 million tracks, available at the touch of a button, has been too strong to resist. With both free and paid for tiers available, Spotify is a widely accessible platform. However, the audio quality does not match up to that of some of its competitors.
Tidal, Qobuz, and Amazon Music Unlimited all offer 24-bit hi-res audio, albeit at a slightly higher price, when you take into consideration the size of their comparative catalogues. Although the libraries of these services may be smaller, it depends on whether you value quality over quantity. Artists themselves have had qualms with Spotify over the audio quality in the past, including Neil Young – who recently removed his music from Spotify.
So, the news that Spotify was joining the hi-res ranks was welcomed indeed. However, it’s been a little while since that first announcement. So, when will Spotify HiFi actually come out?
Spotify HiFi Latest Info
Initially, the launch for higher quality Spotify was promised sometime in 2021. We’re another wonderful year on, but still no Spotify HiFi.
We’re still none the wiser when it comes to firm details regarding launch date, price, and features. But, with all the scraps of information available, it is possible to paint a picture of what Spotify HiFi might look like, and when it could finally arrive.
Frustratingly, the fresh information is still pretty vague. Responding on a Spotify Community Post 4 weeks ago, a company representative said:
“We know that HiFi quality audio is important to you. We feel the same, and we’re excited to deliver a Spotify HiFi experience to Premium users in the future. But we don’t have timing details to share yet.”
The message also stated that eager Spotify users will be updated when possible.
In terms of pricing, Apple Music and Amazon offer hi-res audio quality to their users without extra charge. Whether Spotify will follow this, pleasing their premium customers, remains to be seen.
An individual premium Spotify subscription costs £9.99 per month (UK). Amazon Music Unlimited is also £9.99, or £7.99 per month for Prime members. So, with Spotify customers happy to pay the same rate for standard audio quality, it will be interesting to see whether Spotify HiFi comes at a higher price, and how people respond to this if so.