The Spotify app is seen on a smartphone. The company announced it is rolling out a major update to Premium subscribers, introducing long-awaited lossless audio streaming. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Spotify Premium listeners are finally getting what they’ve been asking for: lossless audio streaming. The company announced Tuesday that the feature has started rolling out in more than a dozen countries, with global expansion to more than 50 markets through October.
The long-promised upgrade allows users to stream songs in much higher fidelity, giving fans a way to hear their favorite albums and playlists with greater clarity and detail.
What is lossless audio on Spotify?
Lossless audio refers to streaming music in a format that preserves the original recording without compression. On Spotify, that means subscribers can now listen in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC — a step above the service’s previous "Very High" quality setting.
The company said the update is part of its broader push to keep improving the Premium tier, alongside features like DJ, AI playlists and daylist.
How to turn on lossless audio
What you can do:
Spotify Premium users will need to manually enable lossless audio in the app on each device. To do that:
- Tap the profile icon in the top left.
- Go to Settings & Privacy → Media Quality.
- Choose "Lossless" for Wi-Fi, cellular, or downloads.
When activated, a "Lossless" indicator will appear in the Now Playing bar and in the Connect Picker.
The company recommends streaming on Wi-Fi using wired headphones or a non-Bluetooth connection for the best results. Because Bluetooth compresses audio, lossless sound cannot be transmitted wirelessly without quality loss.
Where you can use Spotify lossless
Lossless is supported on mobile, desktop and tablet, as well as many Spotify Connect devices from companies like Sony, Bose, Samsung and Sennheiser. Support for Sonos and Amazon devices will be added next month.
Listeners can also set different quality preferences for Wi-Fi, cellular data, and downloads, making it easier to manage storage and data use.
When lossless audio is available
Spotify said the feature began rolling out Sept. 10 to Premium subscribers in markets including the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, Japan and Sweden. By late October, more than 50 countries will have access. Premium users will receive a notification in the app once the update is live for their account.
The Source: This report is based on information released by Spotify in its official Sept. 10 announcement. Additional context comes from the company’s product documentation.