Spotify announced plans in February to launch a new "HiFi" premium plan sometime in 2021. Although the company declined to give a date, there is reason to believe a launch could be imminent.
A user discovered and used a new "HiFi" button in the Spotify app, even before the music streaming company introduced lossless audio. Months before Apple announced that Apple Music would switch to lossless audio tracks, Spotify revealed that it also wanted to offer higher-quality audio. The company stated at the time that it would launch sometime in 2021. But a new finding suggests that the launch could be imminent. Within the Spotify iOS app, Reddit user "themonarc" discoveredthat an unannounced new “HiFi” button may be triggered.
Apple Music Lossless: Does Spotify want to react quickly?
I successfully opened the “HiFi” menu by quickly tapping the glitched icon when launching the app.
The steps, revealed in a GIF, show the controls that appear after using the Spotify app and toggling back and forth to the "Now Playing" screen. After that, a series of explanatory screens, likely only displayed on first launch, will appear, explaining more about playing music on wired or Bluetooth speakers.
We want you to enjoy an uninterrupted listening experience, so we will automatically downgrade you from HiFi to a lower audio quality if you have poor bandwidth.
It's possible that Spotify has since accelerated its move to lossless in response to Apple's move. Amazon, which has offered a lossless option since 2019, lowered its prices and extended its free trial period shortly before Apple's announcement. (Photo by Natee Meepian / Bigstockphoto)
