Spotify says it will launch a subscription later this year called HiFi that will offer “CD-quality, lossless audio”; Spotify currently tops out at 320kbps audio
Microsoft aids Europe's media, Apple tops smartphone sales, Spotify HiFi Simon Cohen / Digital Trends : Spotify will add a lossless hi-fi option later this year Andrew Hutchinson / Social Media Today : Spotify is Looking to Make Podcasts a Bigger Focus, with New Tools to Translate Written Content in Audio Feeds Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider : Spotify HiFi one-ups Apple Music with lossless audio streams Christopher Baugh / iPhone in Canada Blog : Upcoming ‘Spotify HiFi’ Tier to Offer Lossless Music Streaming Shawn Knight / TechSpot : Spotify users will have access to higher quality music starting later this year Lily Katz / Android Authority : Spotify finally adds one of its most-requested features Ben Patterson / TechHive : Spotify will roll out CD-quality audio streams later this year Michael Kan / PCMag : Spotify HiFi Subscription Plan to Offer Lossless Audio Quality João Carrasqueira / Neowin : Spotify announces lossless HiFi tier, expands to 80 new markets John Voorhees / MacStories : Spotify Announces It Will Offer a New CD-Quality, Lossless Streaming Music Tier Later This Year Victoria Song / Gizmodo : Spotify Will Launch a HiFi Streaming Tier Later This Year Juli Clover / MacRumors : Spotify Launching ‘HiFi’ Lossless Streaming Option Later This Year Paul Thurrott / Thurrott : Spotify to Launch a Lossless Streaming Service in 2021 Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac : Spotify counters Apple Music with new HiFi tier, expands to 80 new markets, more Tweets: Parker Ortolani / @parkerortolani : I've been thinking about a premium tier of Apple Music to compete with Spotify HiFi. But I am struggling to find a name! The conventions they use currently don't make sense, there's no cohesive strategy. https://twitter.com/... Chris Messina / @chrismessina : Today's first @TechmemePodcast Experience clip: @Spotify HiFi https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... #StreamOn #AirPodsProMax https://twitter.com/... John Scalzi / @scalzi : I mean “SpotiHiFi” was right there https://www.theverge.com/... Jon Passantino / @passantino : Lossless is cool but since Apple removed the headphone jack and only implemented the AAC codec over Bluetooth even the $550 AirPods Max won't be able to play music at lossless quality https://twitter.com/... Nilay Patel / @reckless : I am all for better audio quality but it's so funny when companies tout “CD-quality” audio, as if anyone remembers what a CD sounds like, and as though all audio quality peaked in 1979 when the CD was introduced https://www.theverge.com/... @axios : Spotify today announced new tools to help podcast creators on its platform develop more interactive shows. https://www.axios.com/... Chris Welch / @chriswelch : Spotify is working with speaker manufacturers — *cough* SONO S*cough* — to make sure they'll support Spotify HiFi. Quinn Nelson / @snazzyq : Apple's the only major remaining hold-out. Do it! https://twitter.com/... Chris Welch / @chriswelch : Audiophiles rejoice: Spotify HiFi is coming later this year. For now, Spotify is only saying it'll reach “CD quality.” So Tidal and other high-res services might still have an advantage. But! Still good progress and big news. Where you at, Apple Music? https://www.theverge.com/... Varad Mehta / @varadmehta : This was inevitable after Amazon Music introduced is high definition service in 2019. I'm surprised it took Spotify this long to catch up. https://twitter.com/... Steve Kopack / @stevekopack : Spotify announces “HiFi”, which will be available later this year and enable “CD-quality, lossless audio format” Amazon, Tidal & other smaller streamers also offer lossless audio, but the move could push Apple Music to follow suit. https://www.theverge.com/... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Spotify’s proposed HiFi tier was an attempt to make audio quality a paid differentiator while it was also expanding distribution and creator tools. Later coverage shows the plan stalled after Apple made lossless audio a standard inclusion rather than a premium upsell, leaving Spotify without the pricing room it expected for HiFi.
The feature eventually shifted from a proposed higher-priced tier, including the Supremium bundle Spotify considered, to a 2025 rollout for existing Premium subscribers. That arc makes the original announcement an early test of whether fidelity alone could support subscription segmentation.
First-order effects
- Spotify gains a new planned premium feature above its 320kbps ceiling and must secure speaker-manufacturer support for compatible playback.
- Apple Music becomes the named comparison point, putting Spotify’s audio offering into direct feature competition rather than leaving sound quality as a secondary distinction.
Second-order effects
- Apple’s later decision to include lossless at no extra charge resets the competitive benchmark, undermining Spotify’s intended HiFi surcharge and contributing to its delayed launch plan.
- Spotify’s subsequent Supremium proposal shows the company needed to pair high-fidelity audio with audiobooks and other benefits to justify a higher subscription price.
Third-order effects
- Lossless audio is becoming a baseline retention feature in music subscriptions rather than a durable standalone upgrade, as reflected in Spotify’s later Premium-wide lossless rollout.
- Streaming services seeking higher average revenue per user will face pressure to bundle multiple differentiated benefits when rivals can neutralize a single technical feature at no extra charge.
The trend: Music-streaming subscriptions are moving from charging separately for audio fidelity toward bundling it into broader premium packages as platforms search for defensible upgrade value.