Spotify HiFi Icon Spotted in Mobile App Suggests Imminent Launch

Spotify in February announced plans to introduce a new "HiFi" premium tier sometime in 2021, and while the company declined to offer a date, there's reason to believe a launch could be imminent, especially in the wake of Apple Music's lossless tier announcement on Monday.

spotify hifi icon
In a timely discovery, hints of Spotify's lossless HiFi audio streaming service have again been spotted this week by Reddit user themonarc, who shared their finding with the accompanying image above.

According to the Reddit poster, a hidden HiFi menu was accessed in the Spotify app by "quickly tapping the glitched icon" that briefly appeared on the Now Playing screen upon launch.

Doing so brought up a separate screen explaining that the HiFi option supports 16-bit 44.1kHz streaming over wired earphones. The selected track didn't play in Hi-Fi quality, however, indicating that the server-side functionality isn't yet finalized.

First reports that Spotify was working on a lossless audio version of its streaming service actually appeared over three years ago, when the company started testing the option with a small group of users.

Back then, promotional screens pitched the "Spotify Hi-Fi" tier as a $5-$10 upgrade to a standard Spotify subscription. However, Spotify will likely be hard pressed to justify a paid-for upgrade, now that Apple Music has announced that its lossless offering, set to drop in June, will be free to existing subscribers.

Notably, Amazon Music has already acted to stem a potential audiophile exodus by offering its own Hi-Fi plan as an option for existing subscribers at no extra cost. We've reached out to Spotify for any update on their own HiFi launch plans.

Tag: Spotify

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
airpods color prototypes

Apple Tested AirPods in Bright Colors

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:06 am PST by
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases. The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white. They seem close to some...
tesla red orange bg feature

Tesla Could Be Planning to Support Apple Car Keys

Sunday December 28, 2025 4:24 am PST by
Support for Apple Car Keys may now be more likely to come to Tesla vehicles, amid new evidence that the automaker is embracing native, system-level digital car keys. According to Not a Tesla App, 4.52.0 of Tesla's mobile app contains multiple code references to Harmony Wallet Key Cards. The discovery is notable because it represents a shift in how Tesla appears to be approaching mobile...

Top Rated Comments

isidore4000 Avatar
60 months ago
Having used both recently, I prefer spotify to apple music. It's the music discovery on spotify that gives it the edge for me. My experience is that I find new music more easily on spotify, whether it's the kind of playlists that get posted to online places I read or it's the dark voodoo of their algorithm finding things I didn't know but end up liking. Both spotify and apple music are way ahead of my brief runthrough of amazon music in this discovery department, but spotify wins vs apple for me here. But the thing I love best about this apple announcment is that it all but guarantees that spotify won't be able to charge me more for their eventual/impending hifi tier. Yeah, I'm trying to keep my audiophilia mostly in the closet, but I have the equipment to benefit from cd-quality streaming and look forward to it coming to spotify.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Whathappened Avatar
60 months ago

Having used both recently, I prefer spotify to apple music. It's the music discovery on spotify that gives it the edge for me. My experience is that I find new music more easily on spotify, whether it's the kind of playlists that get posted to online places I read or it's the dark voodoo of their algorithm finding things I didn't know but end up liking. Both spotify and apple music are way ahead of my brief runthrough of amazon music in this discovery department, but spotify wins vs apple for me here. But the thing I love best about this apple announcment is that it all but guarantees that spotify won't be able to charge me more for their eventual/impending hifi tier. Yeah, I'm trying to keep my audiophilia mostly in the closet, but I have the equipment to benefit from cd-quality streaming and look forward to it coming to spotify.
Is your Return key broken?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krspkbl Avatar
60 months ago

So all competitors are copying Apple's every move again. How typical.

If Apple charges, they charge too
If Apple doesn't charge, they dont dare charge

ffs they should spend that effort coming up with new features instead of being so sensitive to Apple's every move.
sorry to burst your bubble but Spotify announced months ago that Hi Fi was coming this year.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/spotify-music-hifi-lossless-b1806056.html

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/spotify-hifi-tier-finally-launching-to-offer-cd-quality-streaming/ar-BB1dUoR9

https://routenote.com/blog/spotify-announce-their-new-cd-quality-lossless-audio-tier-spotify-hifi/

https://www.cnet.com/news/spotify-reveals-hifi-tier-80-country-expansion-new-exclusive-podcasts/


how long have we known about Apple lossless? according to this very website the earliest report was 17 days ago:

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/05/01/apple-music-hifi-tier-new-airpods-coming-weeks/

so they aren't copying Apple's every move. In fact in this case Apple is the one who should be doing the copying. Apple Music is inferior to Spotify (i'm using Apple Music on my iPhone so not just hating).


Did they fix their crappy apps? Then no deal.
you mean the apps that are on ios, android, mac os, windows, linux, playstation, xbox, and even some TVs (LG for example)?????

meanwhile, i'm waiting for Apple to put out a dedicated Apple Music app for Windows so i can stop using the web player which is a buggy mess lol. "jUsT uSe ItUneS!!" ... no. it's old and archaic. it's so outdated and was designed for the iPod era.

i've used Spotify for 12 years (currently using Apple Music) and let me tell you the apps are fine and Apple has a lot of work to do before they can catch up with Spotify.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VermontsFinest Avatar
60 months ago
Dead on arrival if they are charging for it. That's cute though that they thought they could compete.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alpi123 Avatar
60 months ago

So all competitors are copying Apple's every move again. How typical.

If Apple charges, they charge too
If Apple doesn't charge, they dont dare charge

ffs they should spend that effort coming up with new features instead of being so sensitive to Apple's every move.
---

First reports that Spotify was working on a lossless audio version of its streaming service actually appeared over three years ago ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/03/02/spotify-lossless-audio-quality-plan/'), when the company started testing the option with a small group of users.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
60 months ago

now you need a pair of headphones that can actually play that ...
A no brainer on non Apple platforms.
Thats one of the downsides of Apple Eco Systems.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)