Apple Music and Amazon Music have announced that they will bring high-resolution audio to subscribers, and at no additional cost. The announcements came around the same time, with Apple bringing a host of updates to its music streaming service, including Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support, as well as the ability to listen to more than 75 million song tracks in Lossless Audio. Meanwhile, Amazon Music has stated that going forward, its premium streaming tier, Amazon Music HD, will be available to all eligible Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers without a price increase. The news comes after weeks of speculation that Apple will launch a new subscription tier for Hi-Res Audio at no additional cost, and while Apple hasn't introduced a new tier per se, it's true that the features are additional, including streaming without losses for your entire catalog, existing users won't cost a penny more than usual. According to Apple, subscribers "will be able to hear exactly the same as artists created in the studio" with Lossless Audio. To start listening to lossless audio, you can turn it on in Settings > Music > Audio quality, where you can choose the resolution of your music based on your connection (cellular, Wi-Fi, or download). The Lossless level starts at CD quality (16-bit/44,1kHz) and goes all the way up to 24ma/48kHz and is natively playable on Apple devices. And, for audiophiles, there's Hi-Resolution Lossless, which goes up to 24-bit/192kHz. So what difference does it really make? Well, increasing the bit depth of HRA improves the dynamic range of your music, essentially giving you more detail and clarity from the recording, and bringing playback much closer to how it sounded in the studio. Previously, Apple Music streaming quality maxed out at 256kbps AAC, and while it's very crisp and clear, it's still compressed—whether you have a pair of speakers or a higher-end pair of headphones, you'll be able to hear the difference. .
The browsing section of Apple Music on Mac. (Image credit: future)
Spatial intelligence
In addition to Lossless Audio, Apple Music gets Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support. Immersive sound technology was originally designed for cinema, bringing a sense of height and spaciousness to soundtracks and effects, making it seem like sound is coming at you from every angle. If you have a pair of AirPods or Beats headphones with the H1 or W1 chip, Apple Music will now automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks by default; according to the company, "thousands" will be available at launch, with more to follow. Apple says it will constantly add new Dolby Atmos tracks to the service, along with dedicated playlists to help you find your favorite tracks in 3D sound format. Albums available in Atmos will also have a badge on their details page, so you should be able to spot them quickly.
Amazon Music HD. (Image credit: Amazon)
Should Spotify Worry?
In short, yes. As far as we know, Apple Music and Amazon Music will be the only music streaming services to offer Hi-Res Audio as standard, at no additional cost to subscribers, and that will give you an edge over the competition.
Rumors that Apple was working to bring lossless streaming to the platform began to grow after Spotify announced its own hi-fi tier in February. Spotify HiFi is scheduled to launch later this year and brings CD-quality (but not hi-res) sound to the world's most popular streaming service.
Currently, Spotify HiFi has yet to receive a price, although it is expected to cost more than a regular Spotify Premium subscription (€ 9.99 / € 9.99 / AU € 11.99).
The introduction of these absolutely brilliant updates could be enough to turn listeners away from Apple Music's competitors. After all, Apple Music is more widely used than Deezer, is cheaper than Tidal, and integrates very well with the company's products (like the HomePod), making it an attractive prospect for audiophiles and gamers alike. consumers.
Spotify and Apple are catching up to some degree. Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz have long offered their own lossless streaming tiers, outperforming both platforms in the audiophile market. However, all of these services charge extra for access to streaming high-resolution audio - Apple offers this, along with spatial audio, for its normal price of $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99.
As for Amazon Music HD? The service launched in 2019 and gives subscribers the ability to stream more than 70 million songs in lossless High Definition (HD) with a bit depth of 16-bit and a sample rate of 44.1 kHz (CD quality). ).
There are also over seven million songs in Ultra HD (better than CD quality), with a bit depth of 24-bit and a sample rate of up to 192kHz. reaching the threshold for high-resolution audio.
Amazon Music HD also offers remixed songs in Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio, though those spatial audio tracks are limited to Amazon Echo Studio and Sony's RA5000 and RA3000 speakers via Alexa Cast.
The tier costs an additional $5 per month for Amazon Music Unlimited Individual or Family plan subscribers. However, you can now access spatial and hi-res audio tracks for their regular price of $7.99/$7.99 per month for Prime members, $9.99/$9.99 per month for Amazon customers, or $14.99/$14.99 for month if you're on the family plan.
If Spotify is going to maintain its fan base, it will need to either up its CD-quality hi-fi level to include true Hi-Res sound or offer Spotify HiFi for free. Otherwise, Apple Music or Amazon Music Unlimited could easily take the crown as the best music streaming service in 2021.