Spotify will finally catch up to Apple Music with lossless audio quality option, but you’ll have to pay extra

Apple Music launched high-quality lossless audio streaming all the way back in May 2021, available to Apple Music subscribers at no extra charge.

Bloomberg today reports that Spotify is finally almost ready to compete. The company is readying a new higher-end subscription tier that will include “HiFi” lossless audio streaming. Unlike Apple Music, though, you’ll have to upgrade your plan to a higher tier and pay extra to get it.

Spotify first promised that a HiFi option was in the works more than two years ago. In March, the company’s co-president said the tier is “coming at some point,” blaming the aggressive industry moves for the delay.

Bloomberg reports the tier will now launch this year in some markets, before coming to the US.

Whereas Apple and Amazon now offer lossless as a free benefit of being a subscriber, Spotify will charge extra. The price of the new higher tier is not yet known. The new tier is being referred to as “Supremium” inside the company, according to the report.

For reference, Spotify Premium currently costs $9.99/month in the US. This is slightly cheaper than Apple Music, which raised its prices up to $10.99/month at the end of last year, citing “increased licensing costs.” Spotify execs have floated the idea that its pricing may increase to match, although nothing has been confirmed.

Spotify is firmly the most popular music streaming service worldwide, with hundreds of millions of paid subscribers and users on the ad-supported free tier. Apple Music is the second most popular service, with an estimated 80 million paying subscribers. With iOS 17, Apple Music will get even better with collaborative shared playlists, a cross-fade songs option, and a redesigned Now Playing interface with full-bleed animated album artwork.