Update: June 8, 2021 (12:38 p.m. ET): Apple Music has now enabled lossless streaming and spatial audio features previously announced. You can now enjoy the new selected songs in lossless quality if you have the latest version of iOS, iPad OS, and macOS.
For high-resolution, lossless streaming, you need an external DAC.
If you still can’t see the capabilities of Apple Music, you may have to wait a bit as this is a server-side update from Apple that may not have reached you yet.
You can read the original article below to learn more about lossless streaming and spatial audio on Apple Music.
Original article: May 17, 2021 (10:38 a.m. ET): There are many music streaming services. Everyone has their advantages and disadvantages. So far, the advantage of the Tidal music streaming platform has been to offer lossless audio, which allows for greater fidelity than MP3, AAC, or other compressed formats.
However, Apple just threw a wrench at work by announcing that Apple Music will be losslessly supported in June 2021. The company also announced that its subscribers will have access to spatial audio support through the Dolby Atmos format.
See also: Apple Music: is it worth it? Everything you need to know.
These two new perks come at no additional cost to the user. Apple Music will continue to cost $ 9.99 per month for existing and new subscribers.
Lossless audio from Apple Music
When musicians record their music in the studio, the master tapes have a certain level of fidelity. This fidelity is reduced when converting to CD format. Then this fidelity is further reduced when it is compressed into digital formats, be it MP3, AAC or others. Every time the fidelity is lowered, the audio quality degrades, which prevents listeners from truly experiencing the music as the artist recorded it.
Lossless audio addresses this issue. The disadvantage, however, is that the file sizes increase significantly. Because of this, Apple is forcing users to choose to use Apple Music lossless formats. There will be lossless versions for over 75 million songs on the platform.
Connected: The best music player apps for Android
In your Apple Music app, go to Settings> Music> Audio Quality. Once there, you have a few options. You need to select a format for the three streaming methods (WiFi, cellular, and download):
- 16bit at 44.1kHz (also known as CD quality; works on most devices)
- 24bit at 48kHz (natively playable on Apple devices and many others)
- 24bit at 192kHz (requires a DAC)
Of course, since you will increase the file size of the highest resolution files significantly, this should be taken into account when making your selection.
Apple Music spatial audio over Dolby Atmos
Spatial audio – sometimes called 360 audio – mimics a high quality surround sound experience in your headphones. When recording music, the drums might “feel” like they’re right in front of you, while the guitar and bass might be on their sides. If it’s a live recording, the roar of the crowd might be behind you.
In order to achieve spatial audio, the tracks must be mixed in this format. As a result, not every song in the Apple Music catalog will have a spatial option. However, if you try to play a track on supported hardware, the spatial version will play automatically. AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip will support this for recording. The latest versions of iPhones, iPads, and Macs also support spatial audio through the built-in speakers.
Unlike Apple Music lossless audio, you don’t have to sign up for it. The service automatically selects the right track for your hardware.
Apple doesn’t say how many spatial tracks are on Apple Music. However, there is a playlist that will guide you in the direction of a few tracks to check out.
