Apple Music lossless: all you need to know!

If you’re someone who likes to listen to music in the highest quality, you’ve certainly heard about the lossless format. Recently, it has become possible to listen to your favorite Apple Music songs in such a lossless format!

Even if you don’t know about it, be sure that it will enhance your experience when listening to music. In this article, we’re going to talk about what it really is, how it works, and what devices you can listen to like this on. Check it out!

What is Apple Music lossless?

The first part of the article will be dedicated to an explanation of this format so that you can identify if it is for you or if you have no real interest.

The lossless is offered by this music streaming service is developed by Apple itself, resulting in an audio experience that is almost identical to if you were in the studio when the recording was made!

The best part, actually, is that if you’re already a subscriber to Apple Music, one of the best Spotify alternatives, you’ll be able to experience lossless without having to pay anything extra. But of course, if you prefer, you can continue using the audio quality you already listen to!

How does it work?

You might be wondering how Apple’s lossless works, especially if you’re someone with a lot of interest and curiosity about technology. Here, your doubt will be solved!

Any file, whether text, image, or audio, when in digital format, will be compressed in some way. Compression will usually lead to the loss of at least some of the data.

There were already other lossless compressions, but Apple developed its own, called Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). With this, compressed audio won’t lose its quality!

The entire Apple Music catalog is now available in lossless, with resolutions ranging from 16-bit/44.1kHz to 24-bit/192kHz. However, and it’s worth mentioning, listening to songs in lossless mode will use more data (and take up more space if you download them).

Also, if you use wireless headphones like AirPods Pro, it’s good to know that when using Bluetooth devices, there will always be some data loss, resulting in slightly inferior quality. And if you use cheap Bluetooth headphones, the loss will be greater.

How to use Apple Music lossless?

With all that said, let’s now teach you how you can use this new feature. After all, it’s no use knowing this new quality if you can’t experience it!

Minimum requirements

There are a few minimum requirements for you to use Apple Music’s lossless:

• If using an iPhone or iPad, it needs to be updated to iOS or iPadOS 14.6. If it isn’t, check out this link on how to upgrade to the latest version for your device, such as iOS 15;
• If it’s on the Mac, it needs to be on macOS 11.4 or later;
• If it’s on the Apple TV 4K, it needs to be on tvOS version 14.6 or later;
• If you’re on Android, you need to be using the latest version of Apple Music to listen in lossless;
• Also, you need to use wired headphones, receivers, or amplified speakers, or use your iPhone’s speakers;
• Finally, if you want to listen at the highest quality, above 48 kHz, you’ll need an external digital-to-analog converter.

Okay, I have the requirements. How can I enable lossless on iPhone?

The process is really simple and only requires a few steps. But keep in mind that you can only use lossless if you have an Apple Music subscription.

• First, open your Settings app;
• Then navigate to Music (the Apple Music app);

• Now tap on Audio Quality in the Audio submenu;
• Finally, just enable Lossless Audio;
• You can also change whether Mobile Data Streaming, Wi-Fi Streaming, and Downloads will be lossless, hi-res lossless, high quality, or high efficiency. The higher the quality, the more data!

Also, if you already have songs downloaded from Apple Music and you want to have them lossless downloaded on your smartphone, just delete them and download them again.

How to use Apple Music lossless on Mac?

Again, it’s a pretty simple process:

• First, open Apple Music;
• From the menus, tap Music and then Settings;
• Now click on Playback;
• Finally, you’ll see the same options as on the iPhone, being able to enable or disable lossless audio.

And on Apple TV 4K?

To use Apple Music lossless on Apple TV, just:

• Open Settings and navigate to Apps;
• Go to Music;
• Select Audio Quality;
• And now, just enable the Lossless option. Apple TV 4K only supports lossless up to 48kHz, so you won’t have any more options.

I use Android. How to activate Apple Music lossless?

Again, it’s pretty easy. Follow the steps:

• First, open the Apple Music app;
• Now tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen;
• Tap on Settings;

• Right below Audio, tap Audio Quality;
• Finally, enable Apple Music Lossless Audio and configure whenever you want it to be used, just like on the iPhone.

Did you like our article about Apple Music’s lossless?

So, what did you think of our complete guide? Leave a comment saying if you managed to learn how to use this new tool or if there are any questions left! If you still prefer Spotify, check out some tips and tricks to use it!