Last week, Apple announced that lossless audio was coming to Apple Music, but it was also revealed that not all Apple devices would be compatible. We now know that the HomePod and HomePod Mini will in fact support these higher-quality music streams. We just don’t know when.
All Apple has revealed on its new lossless audio support page is that “Support for lossless is coming in a future software update”.
The page also reiterates that the new Apple TV 4K 2021 doesn’t currently support the Hi-Res Lossless format, although the use of the word “currently” could suggest it might change in the future.
Apple’s page also runs down how to listen on other devices, and repeats what we told you last week, that Apple’s AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max don’t support lossless. That’s no great surprise for the true wireless earbuds, but more of a blow for the AirPods Max, as some had assumed their wired connection would enable lossless.
Apple’s iPhones and iPads support Apple Music’s two lower tiers of lossless, namely CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) and Apple Music Lossless (24-bit/48kHz). If you want to listen to Apple Music tracks above 24-bit/48kHz on your iPhone/iPad, you’ll need to connect an external DAC and use a wired pair of headphones. Check out our guide for how to listen to hi-res audio on an iPhone.
There’s better news for Apple fans looking to enjoy the Spatial Audio feature also coming to Apple Music next month. It’s much more widely supported on Apple devices including AirPods headphones and HomePod speakers.
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