Users have been waiting years for lossless audio to come to Spotify since its announcement, and the app’s code suggests the wait could soon be over.

It was over 4 years ago, in February 2021, that Spotify announced lossless music was coming to their music streaming platform. The years since have been rife with rumours, suggesting that Spotify lossless is coming every few months before disappointment once more strikes.

Just last month, the idea of lossless and a “supremium” tier – offering users an optional, paid upgrade – was still in talks as Daniel Ek said they still need “partners to come to the table”. So, we’ve been exhausted by rumours and suggestions over the past few years – is this any different?

Well, for a start this latest news come from Spotify’s official app. It comes from new references in Spotify’s app code, that suggest lossless is under development. This at the very least, confirms that the feature is still in development.

On Threads, technologist Chris Messina writes that the code shows multiple instances of references to lossless. Two seperate bits of hidden code read:

  • “Lossless music, now in premium”
  • “Introducing the best sound quality on Spotify: for music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.”

The text suggests that lossless audio may even launch as a Premium feature, rather than as part of a more expensive subcsription tier. Messina also discovered a graphic element that seems to be related to optimising the sound quality for high-quality headphones.

Some users have noted that the quality isn’t as high as they would like, noting that Apple Music added higher definition audio at no extra cost in 2021. One user wrote on Threads: “24bit 44.1 khz ??? Girl apple has up to 192khz”. While another wrote: “Up to 24/44.1 is crazy when apple music is running 24/192”.

In fact, it is likely that the reason Spotify delayed the launch of lossless music on their platform was because of Apple Music’s launch. It wasn’t long after their announcement that Apple Music added lossless, and some suggest that Spotify couldn’t afford to add it at no extra cost like Apple had.

However, some on Threads defended Spotify’s potential 44.1 khz upgrade. User loganboysk wrote: “even though apple music had it first, it doesn’t matter if you use any bluetooth connection like airpods or wireless headphones [because] bluetooth cannot support it.”

However, one user remains sceptical that the code means anything at all, saying: “At this point, I don’t believe it’ll ever come out lmao”. We have seen code updates that reference lossless audio over the years, yet we’re still waiting. But maybe this time, it’s actually close.