New code in Spotify’s app references the long-awaited ‘lossless’ tier

Summary

It’s been over four years since Spotify first announced its plans to launch a lossless audio tier that has yet to arrive. After numerous leaks and teases from company execs, we know better than to start hoping that the long-delayed service could be finally nearing arrival. But newly added references in the music app’s code suggest the lossless service is at least still under development and could even be getting closer to launch. According to technologist and reverse engineer Chris Messina, a number of references to “lossless” have popped up in Wednesday’s build of the Spotify desktop app. Image Credits:screenshot from Chris Messina These code snippets mainly refer to help cards that would appear to inform the end user about what the lossless tier offers and how to use or troubleshoot the service. For instance, one card says, “Lossless music, now in premium,” while another describes it as the “best sound quality on Spotify for music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.” Some of the cards warn users that particular songs aren’t available in lossless or when their device has bad connectivity, which could affect playback. Another notes that lossless music is “best enjoyed on devices compatible with Spotify Connect and/or wired devices.” Image Credits:screenshot from Chris Messina In addition, Reddit user u/bendotlc noted that other changes were seen in the latest version of the mobile app, where the code now mentions lossless: “Say hello to the best sound quality on Spotify. Listen to high-fidelity music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.” The Redditor claims the feature is actually present in the app, but is currently disabled. Of course, code references don’t mean the lossless feature is coming anytime soon. As we’ve seen in previous years, leaks and code references have appeared before, and yet the high-quality audio tier never arrived. When asked directly about lossless and other plans for premium tiers on recent earnings calls with investors, Spotify execs, including CEO Daniel Ek, w...