An Apple Music Hi-Fi service looks imminent after a new announcement teaser appeared on the Apple Music app, promising that “music is about to change forever.”
A premium Apple Music subscription tier, one offering Hi-Res Audio versions of songs, has long been rumored. And just last week, one tip suggested Apple Music Hi-Fi — or Apple Music Plus, as it may alternatively be called — could launch as soon as May 18, along with the new AirPods 3.
Whether Apple’s latest wireless earbuds will be announced remains to be seen, as regular Apple leaker LeaksApplePro specially claimed the AirPods 3 won’t be part of the Apple Music Hi-Fi reveal. Still, with no other Apple Music-related projects having been leaked or rumored, the service itself looks very likely to be the subject of Apple’s announcement.
Let’s sum it up.Apple Music Hi-Fi:Announcement tomorrow.No AirPods 3.We should be getting firmware updates for AirPods Pro and Max.iOS 14.6 should be coming extremely soon.May 17, 2021
Apple Music Hi-Fi will reportedly offer two choices of Hi-Res Audio playback: 24-bit/48kHz and 24-bit/192kHz, potentially making it even better for lossless audio fans than the Spotify HiFi service announced earlier this year.
Spatial audio mastering is another possibility, and would represent a huge step forward for Apple’s 3D playback tech. Right now, there’s no way to enjoy spatial audio with music: the only available, compatible content is video. Apple Music Hi-Fi could therefore bring the 360-degree sound tech to a whole new medium, though you’d still need supportive Apple headphones like the AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.
Another intriguing rumor around Apple Music Hi-Fi is that it will only cost $9.99 per month, which is what a standard Apple Music subscription currently costs. This would presumably force the standard tier price downwards, which doesn’t seem like a very Apple thing to do. That said, such pricing would allow Apple Music Hi-Fi to undercut competing Hi-Res streaming services such as Tidal and Deezer, not to mention Spotify, which recently raised the price of its premium tier.
Although Apple’s announcement is merely “coming soon,” with no specific date given, we wouldn’t be surprised if it happened this week — so stay tuned.