Spotify launches Lossless Listening feature for premium users — What is it, how to activate and more

Spotify announced the Lossless Listening feature on Wednesday, September 10. The feature lets users stream music in 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC, the least compressed and highest-resolution audio format, which aims to deliver audio that sounds richer than regular audio.

“The wait is finally over; we’re so excited that lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers,” said Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP Subscriptions, Spotify, in a news release. “We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritises 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.”

Spotify's feature provides custom settings options for Wi-Fi, cellular, and downloads, where users can choose between low, normal, high, very high quality. Users will also be able to see how much data each of these requires.

The feature will be available on mobile, desktop, and tablet, as well as on many devices that support Spotify Connect, including Sony, Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser, and more.

Lossless feature will be enabled in more than 50 markets through October. Premium subscribers in Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the US, and the UK have already started to get access.

Step 1: Tap on the profile icon in the top left.

Step 2: Go to ‘Settings & Privacy’ and then ‘Media Quality’.

Step 3: Select where you want to enable lossless audio. Options include Wi-Fi, cellular, and downloads.

Users will be required to enable the lossless feature manually on each device. After activating the feature, the lossless indicator will appear in the Now Playing view or bar, and through the Connect Picker.

“For the smoothest and best listening experience, we recommend streaming lossless music on Wi-Fi using wired headphones or speakers on a non-Bluetooth connection, like Spotify Connect. Currently, Bluetooth doesn’t provide enough bandwidth to transmit lossless audio, so the signal has to be compressed before being sent,” Spotify noted.

The lossless feature results in larger audio files that incorporate every detail of the music file. When users enable lossless on their devices, it may take a moment for the track to start playing, the company further added.