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Google Play Music Gets New Playback Quality Options For Streaming and Offline Listening

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Google has updated its Play Music app with new options to control the quality of music playback over wireless networks and choose the compression level of downloaded tracks.

Previously, users of the streaming service could only adjust the quality of music when listening over their mobile connection, but the additional options offer the same control over WiFi and when listening offline.

Google-Play-stream-quality-800x710.jpg

The options to adjust streaming and download quality are listed simply as Low, Normal, and High, so it's unclear exactly what bitrate Google is referring to, but it's safe to say any increase in quality will eat further into any data caps, or use more storage in the case of downloaded tracks.

For comparison, Spotify offers a streaming choice of 96kbps, 160kbps, or 320kbps, while Tidal offers 96kbps, 320kbps, and Apple Lossless (Hi-Fi). Apple Music streams at 256kbps by default, but does include a 80kbps option for cellular connections.

(Via Engadget.)

Article Link: Google Play Music Gets New Playback Quality Options For Streaming and Offline Listening
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/03/16/google-play-music-playback-quality-options/
Not a Google Play Music user by any stretch, but I would have assumed that the better listening quality/compression options would have been available to users streaming over WiFi first, before the same functionality being made available to users via mobile data. Not that it matters but it seemed a little backwards, right? (But what do I know.)
 
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I have the option, fun fact is that you cannot actually select it. I can select the other three, but not this one. It's not greyed out or anything, the tick just doesn't move to it when you tap it. Eh Google...
 
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sMiK said:
I have the option, fun fact is that you cannot actually select it. I can select the other three, but not this one. It's not greyed out or anything, the tick just doesn't move to it when you tap it. Eh Google...
Click to expand...
You mean you cannot select it? Mine is working just fine.

Maybe try clearing the cache / deleting the app and reinstalling?
 
Col4bin said:
Not a Google Play Music user by any stretch, but I would have assumed that the better listening quality/compression options would have been available to users streaming over WiFi first, before the same functionality being made available to users via mobile data. Not that it matters but it seemed a little backwards, right? (But what do I know.)
Click to expand...
WiFi was set to high automatically. Not sure why you'd think WiFi would have been addressed first since streaming quality affects mobile data usage more than anything else.
 
WBRacing said:
You mean you cannot select it? Mine is working just fine.

Maybe try clearing the cache / deleting the app and reinstalling?
Click to expand...
it does some weird thing for me where if I select it on mobile, it changes it on wifi, then if I select it on wifi - it changes it to mobile. But yes, I cannot select it in the wifi settings. Moving back to spotify when the 4 months expire anyway, the app is horribly buggy. When I skip songs in my car it plays the song for a second, then restarts playing it again - every time. When you press play - it takes ages no matter how quick your connection is. None of these things happen on Spotify. iPhone 7 Plus if anything. And I have tried reinstalling the app :(
 
Col4bin said:
Not a Google Play Music user by any stretch, but I would have assumed that the better listening quality/compression options would have been available to users streaming over WiFi first, before the same functionality being made available to users via mobile data. Not that it matters but it seemed a little backwards, right? (But what do I know.)
Click to expand...
Obviously the intention is to stream the highest quality music possible, but we were given options to reduce quality on mobile networks to save data and/or to still be able to stream music on a lousy connection.

It was assumed Wi-Fi connections would be much better and users wouldn't be limited by a data cap, so music automatically streamed at high quality.
 
69Mustang said:
WiFi was set to high automatically. Not sure why you'd think WiFi would have been addressed first since streaming quality affects mobile data usage more than anything else.
Click to expand...
I think the missing link here was as you just stated, "WiFi was set to high automatically" already, which I was unaware of having never used Google Play Music. Thank you for enlightening me.
[doublepost=1489678719][/doublepost]
Channan said:
Obviously the intention is to stream the highest quality music possible, but we were given options to reduce quality on mobile networks to save data and/or to still be able to stream music on a lousy connection.

It was assumed Wi-Fi connections would be much better and users wouldn't be limited by a data cap, so music automatically streamed at high quality.
Click to expand...
Got it. Without any prior knowledge of the product or its service capabilities, the article left those details out which seemed strange to me at first, hence my question.
 
Col4bin said:
I think the missing link here was as you just stated, "WiFi was set to high automatically" already, which I was unaware of having never used Google Play Music. Thank you for enlightening me.
[doublepost=1489678719][/doublepost]
Got it. Without any prior knowledge of the product or its service capabilities, the article left those details out which seemed strange to me at first, hence my question.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the whole purpose of the quality setting is to reduce data usage, not increase music quality. Otherwise, it would make more sense to give Wi-Fi the option first.
 
Google Play Music has the worst sound quality of all the services. There 320kbps MP3 sounds terrible. It is very loud and I can hear the mud sound. So the highest setting can't even tough AM superior 256kbps AAC remastered albums.
 
I used to use google play music because I signed up for it when I could get it for $7.99 (thus the cheapest option) but limiting playlist to 1000 tracks was kind of annoying and I still love apple music for offering smart playlist even if you can only create them in itunes and not on mobile devices. Better than no smart playlist. If Spotify ever got smart playlist I'd strongly making that switch.
 
A bit of topic but I read about new google features/offerings each day. Apple however :confused:
 
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