Latest Apple Music Beta for Android Adds Spatial and Lossless Audio

When Apple last week launched Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio for Apple Music, it said that the new features would be "coming soon" to Android. Now, the company has released a new ‌Apple Music‌ beta for the rival mobile platform that brings support for both features.

apple music album cover art
As per the changelog for the release, spotted by 9to5Google:

In this update, Apple Music adds spatial listening on compatible devices, with thousands of tracks in Dolby Atmos available at launch.

Other updates include Lossless Audio, a new way to experience un-compromised sound, with bit-for-bit accuracy.

In the app's Settings menu, there is a new "Audio Quality" sub-menu to enable Lossless Audio, and users can choose between the different tiers where applicable.

The beta release for ‌Apple Music‌ 3.6 for Android also includes automatic crossfade and enhancements to the library in-line search function.

Note that lossless audio files preserve every detail of the original file, and enabling the feature will consume significantly more data. For example, 10GB of space should store around 3,000 songs at high quality, but 1,000 songs with lossless, and just 200 songs with hi-res lossless.

Getting access to this version requires users signing up for the beta channel in the Play Store, but the fact that they are included suggests the wider ‌Apple Music‌ user base on Android won't have to wait much longer to get these features, too.

Apple has not specified which Android devices might be compatible with Spatial Audio, but a wide range of Apple devices can access the feature including the ‌iPhone‌ 7 and later, all iPad Pro models, the 6th-generation ‌iPad‌ or later, the iPad Air 3 and later, the fifth-generation iPad mini and later, the 2018 or later MacBook Pro/MacBook Air, and the 2020 or later iMac.

Popular Stories

hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're officially less than one week away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Report: Low-Cost iPhone, iPad, MacBook Coming Early 2026

Friday November 21, 2025 2:26 am PST by
Apple is planning to release new entry-level models across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories early next year, with an all-new affordable MacBook the most notable addition to the lineup. According to a new research report by Jeff Pu of GF Securities seen by MacRumors, Apple will launch the iPhone 17e – its second iteration of the "e" line – in the spring, likely along with a...

Top Rated Comments

Marco Klobas Avatar
58 months ago

hehe the DAC of this Adapter is garbage compared to a decently build-in headphone jack.
It's so bad that not even Apple dares to write down detailed specs on their site.

Also have fun charging and listening at the same time, and if you own the Airpods Max the situation becomes even worse.

Apple Lossless will be a miserable experience on Apples own platform, except if you own a supported older iPhone with headphone jack (<=iPhone7), and a decent third party headphone. A bummer for a company glorifying their own ecosystem.
I was merely replying to someone who asked how to listen on Apple portable devices not carrying a headphone jack, confirming that with that accessory is possible.

Whether the adapter's DAC is good or bad, I'll leave that to the end user. I don't think the built in DAC in iPhones/iPads with regular audio jack is "Hi-Fi-grade" in comparison. Maybe a little bit better. I don't know because I can't make a comparison – I never used that adapter.

Apple lossless is definitely enjoyable even in hi-res with a proper setup (via USB DAC). You just have to know how to do it.

Admittedly, the whole Apple Music lossless launch was confusing, even for those who are into this kind of stuff, let alone for the regular users.

AirPlay is messy right now. Hope Apple will fix it.

It's so confusing that I thought to prepare a cheat sheet:

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
58 months ago
That's a laughing stock, Android devices with headphone jack will fully support Apple HiFi, while Apples own devices won't. ?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marco Klobas Avatar
58 months ago

Yeah? How without a headphone jack?
Over this crooked lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter?
Yes, through the Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter ('https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMX62AM/A/lightning-to-35-mm-headphone-jack-adapter') it's possible to get lossless audio (up to 48 kHz).
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B/D Avatar
58 months ago

hehe the DAC of this Adapter is garbage compared to a decently build-in headphone jack.
It's so bad that not even Apple dares to write down detailed specs on their site.


Also have fun charging and listening at the same time, and if you own the Airpods Max the situation becomes even worse.

Apple Lossless will be a miserable experience on Apples own platform, except if you own a supported older iPhone with headphone jack (<=iPhone7), and a decent third party headphone. A bummer for a company glorifying their own ecosystem.
This is just not correct. Like, empirically not correct.




And you are assuming that the main listening of Apple Lossless will be done of mobile devices with headphones. I doubt it. In fact, you have to manually enable lossless in settings, and I don´t think the vast majority of people will care that much about audio.


Those who do, I think they will listening to Apple Music lossless on a dedicated hi-fi stereo system connected to an Apple TV 4K, or in a setup like this:


Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seanmills1020 Avatar
58 months ago
Excellent. Apple should continue to offer apps on Android.

Many Android users will never convert to the iPhone or iPad, so why pass up an opportunity to collect revenue?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B/D Avatar
58 months ago

That's a laughing stock, Android devices with headphone jack will fully support Apple HiFi, while Apples own devices won't. ?
Huh?. Apple devices do support it. Apple bluetooth headphones won´t, because it´s just not possible.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)