Ahead of the upcoming WWDC 2021 event, Apple recently announced that Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos support is coming to Apple Music. It will be available as part of the iOS 14.6 update sometime in June later this year. Now, if curiosity has led you to ask what is Apple Lossless Audio, we have got you covered with this detailed guide. We will also discuss what is Dolby Atmos, Spatial Audio, and which devices support Apple Music Lossless.

Apple has bet big on Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos to make its music streaming app, Apple Music, a top-notch pick for music listeners. Especially the ones who are always hunting for the best tracks in terms of sound quality. But has the company checked off all the bases? More importantly, will your fancy pair of headphones or AirPods support Apple Lossless Audio? Only a deep dive can help find out the right answers. So, let’s get right into it!

  • What is Apple Lossless Audio?
  • What Devices Support Apple Lossless Audio?
  • What Devices Don’t Support Apple Lossless Audio?
  • Why Don’t AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and HomePod Support Apple Lossless Audio?
  • How Can AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max Support Apple Lossless Audio?
  • Lossless Audio Quality: Difference Between Lossless Tier and Hi-Res Lossless Tier
  • How Many Lossless Audio Songs Are Available on Apple Music?
  • How Much Does Apple Music Lossless Audio Cost?
  • Is Apple Lossless Audio for Everyone?
  • When Will Apple Music Get Lossless Audio Support
  • What is Dolby Atmos Music?
  • What Devices Support Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio in Apple Music?
  • How to Enable Dolby Atmos in Apple Music?
  • How Many Tracks Support Dolby Atmos on Apple Music?
  • How Do You Identify Dolby Atmos Tracks on Apple Music?
  • Do You Have to Pay for Dolby Atmos Tracks on Apple Music?
  • When will Dolby Atmos Support Arrive on Apple Music?

What is Apple Lossless Audio?

To get a good hang of lossless audio, it would be apt to first understand what is “Lossy Audio”.

However, if the frequencies and bitrate remain intact even after the compression, and the digital copy is identical to the original audio, we call it Lossless Audio. The lossless popular audio formats are – AIFF, FLAC, and WAV files.

To be more precise, Lossless Audio is a file format that compresses audio without sacrificing the original quality of the recording. It takes advantage of compression algorithms to preserve the audio quality, including the texture and detail, by constricting silences to almost zero space. As the name implies, it is aimed at delivering the music experience as intended by the artist. Apple’s Lossless Audio format is called Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC).

Apple has confirmed that the Lossless Audio on ‌Apple Music‌ can be listened to on the following devices:

Note: Apple Music for Android will also support Apple Lossless Audio when it goes live in June, as per reports. But bear in mind that Apple Music will lack Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support on Android.

What Devices Don’t Support Apple Lossless Audio?

Unfortunately, there are quite a few notable devices that don’t support Apple Lossless Audio. They are:

In what could seem like adding insult to injury to many Apple device owners, Android phones equipped with headphone jacks appear to be the better way to listen to Apple Music’s lossless audio tracks. You merely need a DAC and compatible in-ear monitors/ headphones to fully enjoy lossless audio tracks on Android.

Due to the limitations of Bluetooth (AAC codec), analog-to-digital conversion, and the Apple Lossless Audio codec, AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max can’t stream in 48kHz Lossless or 192kHz Hi-Res lossless audio.

Worse, you won’t be able to get the full lossless audio experience even when you use a physical cable to plug in your $549 AirPods Max into supported devices. If you didn’t know, AirPods Max can be used in a wired state using a Lightning to 3.5mm dongle. Why don’t these headphones support lossless audio, though?

AirPods are designed to stream music using the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) standard that maxes out at 320 kbps. To enable AirPods to support lossless audio, Apple must come with its own proprietary codec like Sony’s LDAC developed to play music at a higher bitrate over Bluetooth.

Apple will provide two types of Lossless tiers – standard lossless for newbies and Hi-Res Lossless tier for true audiophiles. While the lossless tier will start at CD quality, which is 16-bit at 44.1kHz and max out at 24-bit at 48kHz, the Hi-Res Lossless tier offers you 24-bit at 192kHz. That means, when you move to Settings -> Music -> Audio of an Apple device, you will see these three options:

  • CD Quality (16-bit/ 44.1kHz, standard lossless quality)
  • Lossless (24-bit/ 48kHz, better than CD Quality)
  • Hi-Res Lossless (24-bit/ 192kHz, requires dedicated hardware)

Bear in mind that you will need a digital-to-analog converter or DAC to support Hi-Res Lossless audio playback on your device.

At the time of launch, around 20 million songs will support the codec. And more than 75 million songs will support lossless audio on Apple Music by the end of 2021.

Well, the straightforward answer to this question is zero dollars! Apple clearly stated that the Lossless Audio support is available with your existing Apple Music subscription at no extra cost. So it doesn’t matter whether you have an individual or a family plan, you will have unlimited access to Apple Music Lossless Audio for free.

The real bone of contention is whether you can hear the difference between lossy audio and uncompressed lossless audio files. Well, at least those who listen to music just for the sake of listening or fun won’t notice a huge difference. On top of everything, you also have to take into account the quality of the audio hardware, especially if you want to relish lossless audio as the artists recorded them in the studio. Budget or cheap devices can’t deliver the same experience.

Apple Music will get Lossless Audio support sometime in June. The Cupertino giant didn’t divulge an exact date for the rollout. Alongside Lossless Audio, Apple Music will also get Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support at no extra cost. So, let’s understand how these two technologies can help further elevate your listening experience.

On the flip side, Dolby Atmos allows music producers to mix tracks so that it can sound like the music is all around you. Instead of using two channels, a producer can separate all the instruments on distinct channels and move them around to create a 3D audio space. It will offer a transformative experience to Apple Music users.

Since the Dolby Atmos implementation is sound-only and does not involve head tracking, you can listen to tracks that support Dolby Atmos on any headphones. You simply need to enable the Dolby Atmos setting in Apple Music on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV.

While Apple says that any pair of headphones can support Dolby Atmos, you shouldn’t expect a budget pair of headphones to deliver the best experience. Simply put, most of the cheap/ budget headphones lack the technologies developed to get the best out of Spatial Audio that Dolby Atmos is known for.

You can also take advantage of the built-in speakers on the following devices to listen to Dolby Atmos-supported tracks:

How to Enable Dolby Atmos in Apple Music?

What if your headphones don’t come with W1/ H1 chip can you still listen to Dolby Atmos tracks? Yes, you can. However, you will have to enable the option by going to Settings -> Music -> Audio -> Dolby Atmos on your device.

Though Apple has not yet given the exact number of tracks that will support Dolby Atmos on Apple Music, the Cupertino giant has mentioned that “thousands of Dolby Atmos tracks” (if not millions) will be available when the feature arrives in June. What’s more, Apple has also said that it will regularly add all-new Dolby Atmos tracks to Apple Music.

Do You Have to Pay for Dolby Atmos Tracks on Apple Music?

No, you won’t have to pay anything to listen to Dolby Atmos tracks on Apple Music. So, whether you have a family or individual plan, you will have unrestricted access to Dolby Atmos tracks.

Though Apple is yet to offer a specific date, Dolby Atmos is likely to arrive on Apple Music sometime in June.