Spotify HiFi launch could be imminent as user spots icon in iOS app

A Reddit user was able to find the Spotify HiFi menu in a song in its iOS app, which could indicate the new subscription tier could be launching soon. This finding happened as Apple Music just announced its Lossless audio quality with Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio support coming in June.

According to user “TheMonarc,” a glitch in the Spotify app for iOS made it possible to access the HiFi menu. The user explains: “I successfully opened the ‘HiFi’ menu by quickly tapping the glitched icon upon app launch.” The user shared a three seconds video with the Spotify HiFi menu popping up for almost half a second here.

Spotify announced in February that it has plans to launch a HiFi subscription tier later this year. At the time, the company said it was going to be an add-on for Spotify Premium subscribers, but since the platform has raised its prices and Apple Music doesn’t charge more for premium quality, it’s unclear what Spotify’s plans are at the moment.

The HiFi icon on Spotify is going to appear in the lower right corner of the app and includes text about music playing at 16-bit/44.1 kHz quality, which is the same Apple is offering in Lossless. Apple will also give its users Hi-Res Lossless quality at 24 bit at 192 kHz but it’s not clear right now if Spotify will also follow the same path.

If Spotify HiFi is launching soon, it will enter into the premium music war where Amazon just dropped the prices from its HD subscription and Apple Music announced it’s not going to charge more for Lossless. Deezer, which already offers a HiFi subscription tier, costs $14.99, and Tidal is the only service that prices HiFi at $19.99.

Recently, Spotify announced that it is also making accessibility improvements on iOS/Android including auto podcast transcription.

We’re continuously making accessibility improvements to the experience to help many of our users enjoy the songs and podcasts they love more easily. So today, we’re introducing three updates to Spotify on iOS and Android: buttons with increased readability features, options for text resizing, and a beta for podcast transcripts.

Were you able to spot this glitch showing HiFi in a song on Spotify? Tell us in the comment section below.

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