Apple Music gets lossless and spatial audio in June

Apple Music just scored a major victory over Spotify and Tidal. 

In a company blog post on Monday, Apple announced that its Apple Music streaming service would give all users access to lossless and spatial audio in June. The kicker? Those who subscribe to the service will get these features without needing to pay more money.

Lossless audio is probably the bigger of the two, especially for audiophiles. If you’re not familiar, turning songs into MP3s or other common audio formats usually leads to a reduction in sound quality. Not every part of a recording is “essential” for basic listenability, so corners are cut to make sure file sizes aren’t massive. As you might have guessed from its name, lossless audio gives you an uncompromised version of a song, closer to what was heard in the recording studio. 

And for those who care, Apple said its lossless format starts at 16 bit at 44.1kHz and goes all the way up to 24 bit at 192kHz. You’ll be able to choose your preferred quality level in the Apple Music app’s settings when this feature rolls out.

Spatial audio is a little more self-explanatory. Artists can make their music sound like it’s happening all around the listener, as long as they’re using new AirPods or Beats headphones or the most recent iterations of iPads, Macs, and iPhones. This is courtesy of Dolby Atmos, a high-tech surround-sound format that you can find everywhere from movie theaters to home audio equipment. 

Assuming lossless and spatial audio deliver on those promises, Apple can claim victory over Spotify and Tidal on price alone. The $9.99 monthly fee won’t increase, unlike Spotify’s upcoming HiFi plan (which doesn’t have a confirmed price yet) and Tidal’s existing $19.99 monthly lossless plan. That’s definitely a noteworthy blow in the music streaming war.