While it’s fair to say that audio quality is not a huge priority for a majority of the generation of music fans raised on playing music over the internet, it’s the kind of thing that once you’ve experienced, you never want to go back. As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple is also rumored to have new AirPods Pro 2 coming later this year that support wireless Lossless playback. While it had initially said there would be a higher pricing tier, Apple’s move may have complicated that plan.

Spotify announced its plans for Spotify HiFi with characteristic fanfare during a press conference nearly a year ago. Amazon Music, the third-largest streaming service in the world followed a few months later Apple Music, the second-largest, announced Spatial and Lossless Audio last May, for no additional cost. Spotify has been lapped by virtually every other major streaming service in the high-quality audio stakes: Tidal and Deezer have both offered it for years and Qobuz, a French high-quality-only service, launched in the U.S.

Spotify hifi streaming tier coming