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

Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
fortnite apple featured

Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by
As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...
airpods pro purple

Apple's Camera Equipped AirPods and Apple Watch Could Launch as Soon as 2027

Thursday May 8, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple is working on versions of the AirPods and Apple Watch that incorporate a camera, and the devices could be ready to launch sometime around 2027, reports Bloomberg. Apple has developed a chip codenamed "Nevis" that will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch, while a chip codenamed "Glennie" will be incorporated into the AirPods. Apple is aiming to have the chips ready "by around...

Top Rated Comments

isidore4000 Avatar
52 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
52 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
52 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
52 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
52 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
52 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)