Apple Music HiFi Lossless Audio Details Found In Latest Android App Beta

It seems that Apple is gearing up to launch a lossless audio plan for its Apple Music streaming service, and a new app teardown reveals some new details about this unannounced lossless option. The hints were found in a teardown of the Apple Music 3.6.0 Beta app, including warnings about how much data it will take to stream lossless music when not connected to WiFi.

The new details come from 9to5Google, which found them in the newly updated Apple Music Beta app for Android. The discovery indicates that Apple will bring its lossless audio option to Android, too, while revealing the nature of this offering.

Of note, Apple's explanation about how much data it will take to stream lossless audio over cellular data reveals that there may be two different HiFi options: lossless audio at up to 24-bit/48kHz and high-resolution lossless at up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Both of these lossless options will utilize Apple's ALAC codec; it's unclear whether the HiFi option will be split into two plans or if there will be one plan with both lossless streaming options. These will join Apple Music's existing high-quality and data-saving compressed audio options.

The previous leak from 9to5Mac found references to both Dolby Audio and Dolby Atmos for the iOS version of Apple Music, but 9to5Google notes that such references are missing from its Android sibling. Many details are still missing at this time, including how much Apple Music's HiFi plan will cost and when the offering will launch.