Spotify rolls out lossless audio playback: See if it’s available in the US and how much you’ll pay

After years of wait, Spotify has finally rolled out support for lossless audio playback, more than four years after first announcing it in February 2021. Starting today, Spotify is rolling out lossless audio in the US, UK, Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal and its home territory of Sweden, reports Engadget.

In all, Spotify Premium users in more than 50 markets will gain access to lossless audio by the end of October. The high-fidelity sound option is now available to Spotify Premium subscribers across more than 50 regions globally.

Although Spotify had earlier hinted that the feature might be reserved for a higher-priced plan, it is now available within the current Spotify Premium subscription. However, users on the free, ad-supported tier will not be able to access lossless audio. It’s worth noting that Spotify recently introduced price increases for its Premium service in multiple regions.


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Spotify lossless audio is finally here

Spotify has rolled out lossless audio for its Premium subscribers at no additional charge. The feature will allow you to listen to songs at 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC quality, offering richer details in sound.

Premium subscribers will receive a notification in Spotify once Lossless becomes available to them. Whether you’re diving into a new album or revisiting old favorites, lossless delivers the highest music audio quality on Spotify, the music streaming platform said in a blog post.

“The wait is finally over; we’re so excited lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers,” said Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP Subscriptions, Spotify. “We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritizes quality, ease of use, and clarity at every step, so you always know what’s happening under the hood. With Lossless, our premium users will now have an even better listening experience.”

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Users will get a notification when Spotify lossless becomes available in their region. But it needs to be enabled individually for each device. To turn on this feature, you need to tap on the profile icon > Settings & Privacy > Media Quality and select the lossless audio quality. Spotify says that the best way to experience lossless audio is on a Wi-Fi connection with wired earphones.

When enabled, a Lossless indicator will show in the Now Playing view, bar, or Connect Picker. The streaming service also offers custom settings for Wi-Fi, cellular, and downloads. Users can select from Low, Normal, High, Very High, and Lossless quality, with data usage shown for each option to help them decide.

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The company advises users to stream lossless music over Wi-Fi using wired headphones or speakers and non-Bluetooth options such as Spotify Connect. This recommendation stems from the fact that Bluetooth technology cannot fully support lossless audio transmission. Spotify also explains that, due to the larger file sizes of lossless tracks, playback may take a moment to begin; however, once the tracks are cached, they will play seamlessly.

With the newly introduced Lossless mode on Spotify, Premium subscribers can now enjoy streaming up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC audio, offering enhanced clarity and detail across much of its music catalog. The feature is available on mobile devices, desktops, and tablets, as well as Spotify Connect-enabled devices from brands like Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Sennheiser. From October onward, support will expand to additional devices, including those from Sonos and Amazon.