Although Apple Music will be gaining support for both the Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio formats in June, it’s been confirmed that the HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers will not support Lossless Audio.
Spatial Audio, based on Dolby Atmos, is an immersive three-dimensional audio format that enables musicians to mix music so it sounds like the instruments are all around you in space. On the other hand, Lossless Audio refers to audio recordings that have been compressed without any reduction in the overall quality of the audio, which can result in an improved listening experience, although the difference is not always obvious.
Apple Music will feature two tiers of lossless audio, including the standard “Lossless” audio up to 48kHz and “Hi-Res Lossless” audio that ranges from 48kHz to 192Khz. Apple has stated that “Hi-Res Lossless” will require external equipment like a USB digital-to-analog converter.
The Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio formats will be available in June for all Apple Music subscribers on devices running iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, macOS 11.4, and tvOS 14.6 or later, according to Apple. It’s thought that there will also be a companion HomePod software update that enables Spatial Audio support in time for the feature’s launch.
Spatial Audio will be available for thousands of tracks at launch, with more to be added regularly. Lossless Audio will be available for 20 million tracks at launch, and this will rise to 75 million by the end of the year.
It’s also been noted that Apple’s AirPods units, including the AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro Max, won’t support Lossless Audio, even over a wired Lightning cable connection.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors