4 key variations between Apple and Spotify lossless audio

Do you may have it but? Spotify recently announced that they’re adding lossless audio to their premium tier. Some customers ought to see the in-app notification proper now, letting the service is coming. Lossless audio is rolling out to over 50 international locations over the approaching months.

Whereas Spotify is simply now including a lossless possibility by way of the FLAC file format, Apple Music added its ALAC lossless file format in 2021, alongside a function Spotify nonetheless doesn’t provide. Let’s speak about that and extra as we evaluate the prices and options of Spotify Premium in opposition to Apple Music.

4

Pockets wars

Let’s crunch some numbers

Let’s begin with what is probably going crucial consider deciding which path to take: pricing. The distinction between Apple Music and Spotify Premium breaks down like this:

Though Spotify affords extra choices, together with an ad-supported free tier, Apple’s choices are usually cheaper. That mentioned, nothing beats free. That’s a moot level, although, as a result of that is a couple of comparability of the companies with a give attention to lossless audio, which you’ll must subscribe to Spotify Premium to entry.

Some perks here are worth noting. With Apple, you may pay $19.99 for the Apple One particular person bundle, which provides entry to Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+, which supplies better worth than any perks Spotify at present affords, however is barely related in the event you’re invested within the Apple ecosystem.

Apple Music is out there on Android, and there are Android customers who benefit from the service, in line with feedback on varied boards. Alternatively, pupil subscribers to Spotify will get Hulu entry included for his or her $5.99 a month.

3

Wins and lossless

Specs matter

Credit score: Reddit

Who has the bigger catalog? Which service sounds higher? These are vital inquiries to reply if you would like your cash’s price. Each Apple and Spotify declare to have round 100 million songs, though Apple claims to have the biggest streaming library out there to shoppers. Should you’re on a metered mobile plan, you will must be conscious of the quantity of lossless audio you’re streaming.

At the moment, Spotify’s “Very Excessive” (320kbps), music setting makes use of round 0.144GB per hour, however while you get the inexperienced gentle to manually replace your account for lossless, that determine will leap to round 1GB per hour. Appears like loads till you discover out that Apple’s two completely different lossless codecs eat roughly 2GB and 8GB per hour.

Which brings us to our subsequent element: audio high quality. Spotify’s lossless audio goes as much as 24-bit/44.1kHz, which is just a little bit higher than CD-quality (16-bit/44.1kHz). That will probably be adequate for the overwhelming majority of listeners, however for these with discerning ears, each of Apple’s lossless choices are increased high quality. Apple’s commonplace lossless recordsdata are 24-bit/48kHz, and their Hello-Res Lossless recordsdata are an enormous 24-bit/192kHz, so Apple is the audio high quality winner right here, by no small margin.

Should you’re utilizing Bluetooth earbuds or headphones, these variations received’t matter due to Bluetooth’s limitations. Should you select to spend money on the right gear to make the most of having lossless audio file entry, that’s when these quantity variations might come into play. As soon as I’ve entry to Spotify’s lossless, I’ll be A/B testing and writing up my assessment, so I’ll let what my ideas are on the distinction in high quality at the moment.

Each companies enable for offline playback of music, which might function a workaround for the heavy information utilization. Merely obtain your favourite playlists for offline playback when linked to WiFi to preserve your information, in the event you aren’t on an infinite information plan. Even in case you have an infinite information plan, think about making a behavior of downloading playlists, as your plan is barely conditionally limitless normally. For instance, my provider is T-Cell in the US, and I commonly get near, or exceed, my 50GB of 5G information. Doing so kicks me into the lower-speed mobile connection till my subsequent billing cycle begins.

2

Location, location, location

It is all about entry

Final up on this checklist, let’s discuss entry. Apple Music and Spotify can be found on virtually each working system, cell, and desktop machine. Laptops, tablets, MacOS, Home windows, Android, iOS, and so forth. However one space the place Spotify has Apple beat is its capability to connect with varied streaming containers and good dwelling audio system by means of a function referred to as Spotify Join. It permits your streamer or good speaker to attach on to Spotify over WiFi.

Usually, you utilize your cellphone or different cell machine to manage Spotify remotely, whereas the streamer or speaker itself connects on to the service. I reviewed a BlueOS-compatible Bluesound Pulse 2i stereo hi-fidelity speaker, and the expertise was transcendent. With a speaker like this that has built-in WiFi, you’re going to get the utmost advantage of lossless audio entry since you’re not attempting to push these giant recordsdata from a cellphone or laptop computer to that speaker by way of one thing just like the decrease bandwidth Apple AirPlay or Google Solid applied sciences.

1

Dance to the beat…

Of your individual drum

Credit score: Spotify

In the end, the Spotify versus Apple lossless debate might come right down to which service’s user experience you prefer. It’s lengthy been identified that Spotify’s advice algorithm is top-tier, although some say it’s declined a bit lately. Spotify additionally has robust social options, which Apple has additionally put some effort into creating, and different options like the customarily viral Spotify Wrapped that could be the deciding issue for you. As well as, Spotify affords audiobooks and podcasts accessible from a single app, whereas Apple’s music and podcast apps are separate.

Nonetheless, there are those that choose Apple’s interface and curated playlists like “I Miss Golden Age Hip-Hop,” or stay “radio” stations like Apple Music 1, so which service is healthier general is basically subjective, with no clear winner.

Do you may have a favourite lossless service? Are you an Apple Music consumer who’s enthusiastic about switching to Spotify now that lossless has been launched? Tell us within the feedback under!