What is Apple Music Lossless Audio, how can you get it and what devices work?

Apple Music will soon add a couple of new features – Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

Both will improve audio tracks in different ways, to present a better listening experience. But what do they each offer exactly? And, do you need new devices to get the most from them?

We explain all right here.

What is Apple Music Lossless Audio?

Apple Music Lossless Audio is the tag given to music tracks on the service that are in a higher-resolution format than normal. That means you can listen to music that hasn’t been compressed and therefore retains all the detail and nuance of the original recordings.

When a track is compressed for a smaller file size, such as an MP3 or Apple’s own AAC, some of the audio information can be lost. A compressed file can be up to 90 per cent smaller than a lossless file, but is generally rendered at a lower bit rate and frequency. Most streaming services default to these formats to save on streaming bandwidth or device storage space.

Lossless Audio is rendered at much higher bit rates and frequencies and therefore take up more space or bandwidth. However, the audio quality benefits as a result. Compare the same track played from a CD as to one over a standard streaming service and you should be able to pick out deviations in clarity – even hear sounds in the background you might have previously missed.

Apple Music’s Lossless Audio therefore offers users the option to listen to higher bitrate music tracks, with several “lossless” options. It uses the ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) file type and offers two different types; Lossless Audio in CD quality (16 bit at 44.1kHz) or Hi-Res Lossless Audio (24 bit at 48kHz). There is also an option to access even higher bit rate Hi-Res Lossless Audio tracks (24 bit at 192kHz), although you may need specialist audio equipment to play them back.

Apple will offer its entire catalogue of music – over 75 million tracks – in Lossless Audio.

What is Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos?

As well as Lossless Audio, Apple Music will add Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

These tracks have been remixed to include multiple channels around and above the listener, to give the impression that he or she is sitting in the middle of the recording studio or live concert. It is similar to Sony’s 3D Reality Audio format, which gives the impression of channels through regular stereo headphones.

There will be thousands of songs available in Spatial Audio, but the supported device list is actually quite small. When played through headphones, such as AirPods and Beats with a H1 or W1 chip, listeners will hear music coming from all around them. We’re hoping it will also eventually extend to Dolby Atmos systems and soundbars, such as the Sonos Arc. However, it doesn’t seem to be supported at launch.

How do you get Lossless Audio and how much does it cost?

Apple is offering Lossless Audio at no extra cost as part of an Apple Music subscription. The same goes for Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

An Apple Music subscription costs £9.99 / $9.99 per month (£4.99 / $4.99 for students). A family plan is available for £14.99 / $14.95 per month.

Alternatively, you can get Apple Music as part of the Apple One bundle, which also includes Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage for £14.95 / $14.95 per month (£19.95 / $19.95 per month for family access). News+ and Fitness+ can also be added, plus an increase in iCloud storage (to 2TB) for £29.95 / $29.95 per month.

Both Apple Music and Apple One plans come with a free trial period for newcomers.

Both Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos will become automatically available to Apple Music subscribers in June (as part of an iOS 14.6 update).

How to switch on Lossless Audio in Apple Music

Lossless Audio will not be accessible by default, no matter whether you have downloaded the latest update or not. That’s to save you accidentally using up your mobile data, for example, as lossless tracks can be bandwidth hungry.

Instead, you need to switch it on by heading to Settings on your iPhone or iPad, scroll down to Music, then select Audio Quality. There, you will be able to choose between the different resolutions.

What devices support Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos?

This is perhaps the million-dollar question and something that will become more clear after the formats become available.

Apple Music Lossless Audio can be played on an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV.

Lossless Audio tracks can only currently be heard through wired headphones, they cannot currently be streamed to wireless headphones, including AirPods. Apple’s own AirPods Max are also unsupported, even when wired through the Lightning port.

To listen to Hi-Res Lossless Audio tracks, you will need external equipment too, such as a USB DAC (digital to analogue converter) that sits between the device and the headphones.

No wireless speakers are supported at present, which includes Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini.

It’s better news for Apple headphones owners when it comes to Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos. All compatible Apple and Beats headphones with the H1 or W1 chip will be usable with the new surround mixes when played through an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV.

You can also hear it coming through the internal speakers of an iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro or HomePod, although it defeats the object somewhat to listen to Dolby Atmos audio through an iPhone’s stereo speakers. An Apple TV 4K will also play Dolby Atmos through a compatible TV or AV receiver (as with supported movies).

Is Apple Music the only service with lossless audio?

Apple Music is actually somewhat late to the party when it comes to lossless and Hi-Res music playback.

Other streaming services, including Tidal, Qoboz and Amazon Music, have offered plans with Master Quality or HD music streaming and downloads for some time.

Where Apple is different is it is adding the enhanced offering on top of its existing service for free. Others have traditionally charged more the higher the quality.

It has prompted Amazon to remove the premium fee for its Amazon Music HD service. It too is now free to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers.