Apple announced in May that Apple Music would offer lossless music quality options across its entire catalog at no additional cost starting in June. Now the time has come - it's happening.
It's official. Apple Music is now adding lossless audio streaming. It also introduced support for Spatial Audio Music with songs in Dolby Atmos. Subscribers will be able to listen to select albums with an immersive 3D sound space on AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip. Apple says thousands of Dolby Atmos songs are included. The company says it's working with artists like Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Kacey Musgraves, and more for the first Dolby Atmos launch on Apple Music.
Apple Music Lossless requires iOS 14.6 or later
Apple promises that it will "continuously" add new Dolby Atmos tracks and introduce new additions with dedicated playlists. Currently, "Spatial Audio" requires either AirPods Pro or AirPods Max. However, Apple explains that Dolby Atmos tracks will stream to any AirPods or Beats headphones with a W1/H1 chip. As seen in the screenshot above, albums that support Spatial Audio are marked with a new Dolby Atmos logo. Lossless audio uses the ALAC format. Users can select lossless mode by going to Settings -> Music -> Audio Quality and selecting "Lossless" or "Hi-Resolution Lossless". Lossless formats consume significantly more bandwidth when streaming, which is why Apple explicitly makes the feature an option. (Image: Apple)
