Latest news with #SpotifyHiFi
Tom's Guide
4 days ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Spotify raises prices again — here's what that means for you
Bad news for Spotify users around the world. According to a press release from the green circle, users from "South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region" will now be paying more for their Spotify sub to tune of about $1 a month. That's less than ideal, especially considering how much Spotify already costs. Thankfully, this price rise is yet to appear in any kind here in the U.S., although it could be telling us what to expect in the future. Users in the unlucky territories are going to recieve an email telling them more about the price rise, which Spotify says is to "continue to innovate on (its) product offerings." Given how many new features Spotify brings out every year, it's no great surprise that it's looking for some money from it's users. Yet still, those of us who appreciate higher quality audio are left high and dry, with no news about Spotify HiFi. This new price hike makes the streamer more expensive than the likes of Apple Music and Tidal in the affected territories. Maybe, although this price rise brings the price to parity with U.S. users who've already faced similar hikes in the past. It comes after the firm suffered from a drop in stock prices (via Engadget), so it's likely that it's trying to recoup some costs by passing them on to end users. Whatever happens, now looks like the perfect time to start thinking about hopping over to one of the other best music streaming services — might I suggest Qobuz, my personal favorite service? It sounds way better, and the AI DJ isn't there to annoy you. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spotify HiFi: release date rumors, price predictions, and everything we know so far
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For fans of high-fidelity audio, Spotify HiFi could be the Holy Grail. After unveiling its plans for lossless, CD-quality audio in 2021, audiophiles around the world have been patiently waiting for Spotify to bridge that gap to competitor services like Tidal and Apple Music. Though it's still one of our best music streaming services, Spotify has yet to deliver its highly anticipated HiFi tier. It's been almost five years, but we are closer to the release of Spotify HiFi than ever before. When it comes to the hi-res audio game, Apple and Amazon are leaps and bounds ahead of Spotify. Since 2021 subscribers of both services have been able to reap the benefits of lossless audio quality at no extra cost, so what's gone wrong with Spotify? It's a question we're still asking ourselves to this day, but recently Spotify has been dropping more hints about its HiFi tier which we can now point to a late 2025 release date. Unfortunately, even when Spotify HiFi does drop, we have reason to believe that it will only be available in 'select markets' to start. And while Spotify hasn't said exactly how much the service will cost just yet, we're confident that the Spotify HiFi tier will cost more than the current standard premium subscription which sits at $11.99/ £11.99/ AU$13.99 - and there's no guarantee that every song in the entire Spotify catalog will have a HiFi version available. In spite of this very clear downside, we have good reason to believe that Spotify HiFi songs will be available to save and download to your devices for offline listening, which means you should be able to take your new lossless music library with you anywhere. Ready to make the leap to lossless? Here's everything we know about Spotify HiFi. Spotify HiFi release date rumors After five years since Spotify unveiled its plans to introduce lossless audio to enhance music listening for its subscribers, a recent Bloomberg ($/£) report says that Spotify HiFi is tipped to launch in late 2025 and will be called Spotify Music Pro. Not only will this new subscription tier give you the long-awaited lossless audio you've been waiting for, but will include additional benefits such as remixing tools (including some AI-powered features for mashing tracks together), and even special offers on live music and concert tickets. The latest update comes from tech expert Chris Messina, who found several references to "Lossless" with a capital L in the latest code for the Spotify desktop app. These point to promotional messages inside the app – "The best way to listen in Lossless is with Spotify Connect" – and alerts such as "we're sorry, this track isn't in Lossless yet" or "Looks like your internet connection is having a hard time supporting Lossless right now." Prior to these findings, Spotify's Open House event in May saw the company implying that it's currently looking at ways to improve the music streaming experience for 'superfans'. In addition to admitting it made mistakes with Wrapped 2024, CEO Daniel Ek had the following to say: 'What more things can we do like Fans First that scales, and that provides a great experience for the artist, and provides a great experience for the consumer?", adding "I do agree that the need – the creator need or the artist need – exists. And the consumer need is there too. The question is just how do you create a great experience?'. Spotify HiFi was expected to arrive in 2021, and one of the first leaks we came across was back then when a user on Reddit shared a video seemingly pointing to the HiFi onboarding process - but that was five years ago. Back in March, Spotify ran into a number of bug issues including one that showed ads to Premium subscribers, and while we can't directly connect this to the rollout of Spotify HiFi it's definitely raised our suspicions about what Spotify has going on behind-the-scenes. In a 2021 blog post, Spotify stated the following; "Beginning later this year, Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality to Spotify HiFi and listen to their favorite songs the way artists intended,". Initially, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek claimed that the delay in adding Spotify HiFi has largely come down to licensing issues. Aside from licensing rights, the Spotify HiFi delay can be attributed to its undivided attention to its social features such as Spotify Wrapped, and its mission to bring more AI integrations to its user experience; its AI DJ feature and generative Daylist feature (one which I frequent regularly) are two of its most popular AI tools. Recently, we reported on Spotify's plans to 'double down' on music in 2025 which we believe could go down one of two paths; either the long-awaited HiFi tier or more AI advancements. It's also worth focusing on that select markets bit as it means we won't see Spotify HiFi going live in every territory at the same time. Previously, when Spotify has rolled out new features it usually starts with the US and Europe, but now that the service is available in more than 180 markets, it's hard to say which will be among the first to get the new service. The other issue you'll run into regarding Spotify HiFi's release date – whenever it is eventually announced – is that it's unlikely that every Spotify Connect device will get the upgrade at the same time – which means some speakers like, say, the Sonos One and PS5 might get it long before your slightly older AV receiver. Spotify HiFi price predictions According to the recent Bloomberg report, if the rumors of Spotify Music Pro are true then it could cost you an additional $5 a month on top of its $12 Premium plan. This means that it could be a 50% price rise, presumably costing an additional £6 in the UK and AU$7 in Australia. Previously, we had reason to believe that Spotify HiFi would launch as a brand new subscription tier but the new rumors point to our past guesses that Spotify HiFi would be a new Music Pro feature, as well as a $5 add-on for the Premium Plan. Spotify Premium currently stands at a monthly cost of $11.99/ £11.99/ AU$13.99 therefore if the $5 add-on rumors are true, we'd venture a guess that Spotify HiFi could cost between $14.99 and $19.99 which feels like a safe bet. Speaking of new add-ons, recently a leaked image on X (see below) shows text in the Spotify iOS beta app saying "Explore plans and get more from your Premium experience with add-ons". While we don't know what these add-ons will consist of, they would give credibility to the Bloomberg rumors and mark a big change in Spotify's subscription tier system. What's also influencing our previous guesses is the competition: a Tidal subscription will run you $19.99 per month, while Hi-Res Audio streaming services like Qobuz and Deezer cost $14.99 and $11.99 per month. Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music are a bit cheaper and now include lossless streaming options, and it's possible Spotify HiFi could be around the same price if it ever launches. On the prices front, The Financial Times ($/£) recently dropped a report hinting at an upcoming price hike. According to it's coverage Spotify will be increasing the cost of an individual subscription by €1 (about $1/£1) as soon as June, but this will only apply to subscribers in Europe and Latin American countries, and not those in the US who received a price hike just last year. Spotify HiFi audio quality So, just how good will Spotify HiFi's lossless audio be? It will supposedly sound, at the very least, as good as a CD does – and maybe a bit better. According to Spotify, Spotify HiFi will stream CD-quality lossless audio to your devices. Ideally, those devices will be connected to a network and capable of using Spotify Connect, otherwise, you'll have to pipe it over Bluetooth which will likely diminish the quality. In the absence of Spotify HiFi, you can amend your audio streaming quality in your account settings to add somewhat of an improvement to your listening experience. Just go to your Spotify settings, and tap 'Audio Quality'. That's a heck of a lot better than Spotify's current offering of 320kbps, and will likely bring the service's potential audio quality up to par with Tidal, Deezer, and maybe even Apple's Digital Masters. Speaking of Apple Digital Masters, there's always a chance that Spotify might also go above and beyond hi-fi with 96kHz / 24-bit audio, but we're not holding our breath. So what does that all mean? In a very practical sense, lossless audio formats have more details and data than their lossy counterparts. That means hearing new details in songs you've never heard before that otherwise might've been cut out when the data was compressed. It should also sound a bit wider and more immersive, though, a lot of it will depend on which headphones or speakers you use, too. Spotify HiFi song catalog The murkiest detail of all for Spotify HiFi is how many – and which – songs from Spotify's more than 100 million-song catalog will be included. The safest assumption we can make is that it won't support every song in Spotify's vast catalog, but millions of them should be. Among those will likely be top hits from major record labels which already distribute the files to other services, while some music from smaller labels and older legacy titles likely won't make the cut. We'll keep our ears to the ground for more details on which songs will make the cut, but for now, it's probably best to keep your CD collection right where it is until new details emerge. You might also like I changed this one small Spotify feature and it made my music sound dramatically better My top 5 tips to make more of your Spotify playlists – and trust me, I'm a playlist obsessive Forget Spotify – I'm going all-in on Bandcamp for music in 2025, here's why you should too
The Verge
04-07-2025
- The Verge
Believe (in Spotify HiFi).
Believe (in Spotify HiFi). If you're still waiting for Spotify's lossless audio offering , Chris Messina notes that the 9.0.58 update that rolled out a couple of days ago on Android has new changes hinting at the feature for settings tied to cellular downloading and checking storage space. It's similar to what we saw last month, but after all these years, how long will it take to turn into something everyone can use?
Tom's Guide
30-06-2025
- Tom's Guide
Why I don't use Spotify — and the alternative I use instead
Spotify is what got me into music. It let me discover so many new artists and albums thanks to its impressive algorithms. But things are different now. Spotify has changed — it's more bloated than it was a decade ago, filled with AI features and, worse, Joe Rogan podcasts. So I use a different streamer now — Qobuz, a hi-res option, and one of the best music streaming services. Here's why I finally stopped using Spotify and why I've replaced it with a French alternative. When I first used the Swedish streaming service, Spotify was about as simple as it came. There was music and nothing else. There was so much music to choose from that I didn't have to worry about missing out on new releases. The Spotify of today is completely different beast, however. Sure, it's got all the same listening and playlist options from when used to listen, but now there's a slew of features that feel pointless. I don't need to be able to use an AI to make playlists, I can do it myself. I don't need to be able to use an AI to make playlists, I can do it myself. I enjoy doing it myself. It's fun. I can put hours and hours of my own music together that might suit a mood I'm in at any given moment. I don't want to listen to Joe Rogan and other podcasts on the Spotify app. I can do it elsewhere, and better support the creators I listen to. It's annoying when they appear in my search results — just because I can listen to them, doesn't mean they need to go with my music. I don't want AI DJ to talk to me about my music. If I wanted that, I would listen to the radio and get messages from a real person. I'm using a streaming service because that's not what I want when I listen to music. I'm here for music. I don't need video. I don't need animated album covers. I don't want endless recommendations for music I don't care about. Spotify has become too much, and simultaneously not enough. Given that I use my streaming service to listen to music on my HiFi system, I want to get the best streaming quality possible — and Spotify just doesn't cut it at all. It tops out 320kbps in it's highest quality. That's about the same as the bootleg MP3s I used to download as a kid. Spotify HiFi has been promised for a long time now — although we're yet to see anything come to fruition. But there's another service out there called Qobuz that delivers both hi-res audio and features that I actually care about. I don't think I could live without Qobuz — it sounds incredible compared to the green circle, and pays it's artists more than other streaming options. Pay for the year and you get the best deals on the streaming platform. Qobuz is not a new streaming service, but it's one that's seen a sudden improvement in recent years. It's no my most used streaming service, working well with all my devices. Thanks to Qobuz Connect and its compatability with Roon, I've found that it works incredibly well with my WiFi connected smart speakers around the house. There are interesting asides about each artist and album and an entire section dedicated to learning about music. I love how simple it is — it's all about the music. Sure, there are recommendations, but there are plenty dictated by my listening habits to help me discover new stuff. There are interesting asides about each artist and album and an entire section dedicated to learning about music. It takes me back to when Spotify was just a music streaming service. When there was nothing extra, no bulky features, and no AI. Just me and my tunes. The best bit is the streaming quality. With compatible devices, Qobuz is capable of hitting some very impressive bitrates, making it one of the best sounding options around. Given that Spotify HiFi is still yet to make an appearance, I love that there's a streaming service dedicated to audiophiles like myself. Something even more focused than Tidal, that already puts audio quality at the top of its list. I don't think I'll ever be going back to Spotify as my primary streaming service. It's too expensive, and doesn't offer the streaming quality that I want when I use my audio devices. Sorry Spotify, you just don't hit as hard as you did when I was 11.
GSM Arena
20-06-2025
- GSM Arena
Spotify's lossless HiFi update might be coming very soon
It seems Spotify HiFi might be dropping sometime in the near future, if the latest leaks are to be believed. Spicetify, which is a command-line interface tool for the desktop Spotify client, has posted multiple images on its social media account that have mentions of this upcoming feature within the latest v1.2.66 update. Spotify 1.2.66 mentions lossless in more parts of UI 👇#NewSpotify #SpotifyLossless #SpotifyLossless (pigeon) is mentioned in "Connect to the device" sidebar & under the artist in NPB (Now Playing Bar)Lossless will be available up to 24-bit/44.1KHz (FLAC + Widevine). Lossless… — spicetify (@spicetifyapp) June 19, 2025 For starters, the most obvious giveaway is the presence of a new option within the Audio quality setting dropdown, which includes a Lossless setting that can provide up to 24-bit/44.1kHz audio in FLAC. The onboarding for the app also includes mentions of lossless audio for Premium subscribers. Aside from lossless, it seems Spotify also has some new audio features up its sleeve, which, when paired with a compatible pair of headphones, claims to offer "cleaner, more natural sound". Digging further into the code also revealed mentions of spatial audio without further elaboration. What's not visible in these screenshots is what technology is being used for spatial audio, as there is no mention of specific codecs such as Dolby Atmos. It's possible the aforementioned cleaner, natural sound feature could be using Spotify's proprietary spatial audio tech that only works with select headphones. Moreover, there is also no mention of high resolution audio, as sampling rates seem to top out at a decidedly CD-quality 44.1kHz. Spatial Audio is mentioned in the code, however, I don't think it's Dolby Atmos. I don't see any UI or feature regarding Spatial Audio either, just that it exists in code interacting with the player so, don't expect it anytime soon — spicetify (@spicetifyapp) June 19, 2025 Of course, this was all dug out with the help of the override product state feature in the Spicetify tool and none of it is accessible in the current app. Even with the tool, you can only see mentions of the new features and not actually use them. Spotify announced its lossless HiFi feature all the way back in early 2021. While the company didn't provide a date, it was clear that the feature was imminent and most likely coming at a higher pricing tier than regular Premium. Then, Apple decided to rain on Spotify's parade and launched its own lossless audio feature, complete with high resolution audio and Dolby Atmos, for no additional cost. This likely took the wind out of Spotify's sails as the company immediately dropped all talks of the HiFi feature and adopted radio silence. It seems it was completely caught off guard and since then has been trying to formulate a viable plan to finally launch the service. It's possible the company might still end up charging more for the HiFi plan but we have heard over the years that there will be additional content included to justify it and the company has been building quite the content library outside of just music. As for now, we still don't have an exact date, so this feature could either drop tomorrow, two months later, or never. Source
