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Apple Music allows you to listen to some lossless audio quality songs and albums which, as the name suggests, are extremely high quality audio files. And because you don’t have to pay extra for the feature (it’s included in the $ 9.99 per month price tag), it’s a breeze to try out if you have the right audio equipment – if you have the right audio equipment. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know.
What is lossless audio?
Most of the songs you hear were likely uploaded in popular audio formats like .mp3 or .aac. These audio formats are really good at maintaining acceptable levels of audio quality while maintaining relatively small file sizes. The goal here is to allow you to copy or stream many songs to your devices without having to worry about hitting your internet data limit.
To do this, audio formats like .mp3 compress audio files and lose some of the data available in the original recording. Lossless audio formats such as .flac or .alac avoid this compression and retain all of the data from the original audio recording. That means you can hear music of the highest quality possible or the version that the artists wanted you to hear.
If you want to listen to lossless audio, keep in mind that the files are much larger than regular audio files, so there is a risk of running out of storage space or of reaching your internet data limit much sooner.
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For lossless audio in Apple Music, the company uses the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.alac). If you’re looking for technical specifications, these files are encoded in resolutions from 16-bit / 44.1 kHz (which is essentially CD quality) to 24-bit / 192 kHz.
How to Enable Lossless Audio in Apple Music
Accordingly Apple, Lossless audio is supported on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K, and Android. To use it you need to:
- Update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 14.6 (or iPadOS 14.6) or later versions.
- Update your Mac to macOS 11.4 or later versions.
- Update your Apple TV 4K to tvOS 14.6 or later versions.
- Update the Apple Music app on Android to the latest version.
Now that the updates are done, let’s take a quick look at how to enable lossless audio in Apple Music on your device. Go to on the iPhone and iPad Settings> Music> Audio Quality, and activate Lossless. you can choose between Lossless (24-bit / 48kHz) or High resolution lossless (24-bit / 192kHz).
In macOS, lossless audio can be activated through the Music app. Go to in the top bar Music> Settings, and choose the reproduction Tab. Then you can choose Lossless audio under audio quality.
Go to 4K on your Apple TV Settings> Apps> Music> Audio Quality, and activate lossless.
If you have an Android phone, open the Apple Music app and tap the Three point symbol (also known as the More button). Go to now Settings> Audio Quality, and activate Lossless.
Do I have to buy new headphones to listen to lossless songs?
To listen to lossless songs, you need the right audio equipment. If you have bluetooth headphones (including all types of AirPods), lossless audio is not supported. Even the extremely expensive AirPods Max won’t support full lossless audio even if you use the Lightning to 3.5mm audio cable with it.
Instead, you’ll need to use good wired headphones or plug your device into powered speakers. Apple’s Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Adapter supports lossless audio, so you can use it to plug in your favorite wired headphones or speakers and enjoy lossless music.
If you use wired CarPlay, you can also listen to lossless music through Apple Music. Of course, the difference may not be noticeable unless you have a really good set of car speakers.
