There’s a reason vinyl has made a comeback and that’s because the audio is next level. Well, Spotify is aiming for a similar market with the release of its new premium ‘HiFi’ tier.
Spotify Hi-Fi will bring CD-quality, lossless audio to devices and Spotify Connect-enabled speakers later in 2021. So, what exactly is this new premium subscription level?
What is Spotify HiFi?
Spotify HiFi is music as artists intended, according to Spotify. Announced at the company’s “Stream On” event, Spotify HiFi will provide a new high-quality audio format for listeners. It will allow music fans to experience more depth and clarity in their favourite songs.
Spotify was pretty light on details but so far it seems that users will be able to enjoy HiFi on any of their devices and it’s also working on expanding its range of Spotify-connect speakers.
What’s so good about this new high-quality audio? Billie Eilish can explain it better than I can.
Spotify has always given users the ability to choose their audio quality, which differs according to subscription tiers.
On a desktop, mobile or tablet with Spotify Free listeners can stream low-quality audio at 24 kilobits per second, normal quality at 96kbit/s or high quality at 160kbit/s. With Spotify Premium a new ‘very high’ quality is introduced which allows up to 320 kbit/s.
The specs for Spotify Hi-Fi haven’t been announced yet but expect it to be a significant upgrade from Premium’s very high quality.
When is it releasing and how much will it cost me?
Surprise! Spotify HiFi will cost you more money. This new audio quality tier will be offered to Spotify Premium subscribers, who currently pay $11.99 a month. How much this new audio upgrade will cost to enable has not been announced.
At the moment, Spotify has said HiFi will roll out in “select markets later this year”. It’s unclear whether Australia will be one of those markets or when exactly the new feature will be available but the company has said it will share more details soon.
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