iOS 14.6 Beta 1 Code Hints at Upcoming HiFi Apple Music Support

[hakr100]

I'd rather see Apple turn "Music" into a decent, easy to use application instead of the horrific, overblown, undocumented P.O.S. it is now.

 

[SFjohn]

I wonder if Apple is not just planning lossless audio, but also offering the option for spatial audio (which might need apple headphones/EarPods to work… I don’t think Apple will increase the price of Apple Music at all, too much of a pain point. Plus they usually price to lock in people to their ecosystem, which I’m fine with.

 

[mariusignorello]

This wording still isn’t super clear. It either is going to cost $9.99 ON TOP of the normal $9.99 price? Like how Tidal does it? I sure hope I’m reading that wrong and that everyone that commented in the other thread interpreted it the right way, that it will just be included in the normal $9.99 tier. (Or family for $14.99). Fingers crossed!

Yeah….so they would drop the “basic” tier to $4.99 a month or something similar and replace the $9.99 a month tier with HiFi?

 

[wolfshades]

I highly doubt the hi-res tier will be available exclusively on AirPods. It'd be a silly move to say the least. No other music streaming service did something like this

Granted, even good headphones can take advantage of Hi-Fi quality streaming. Limiting it to AirPods (especially the Apple's in-ear) is very limiting, IMO.

I agree. I have a pair of Nuraphones that boast the ability to take advantage of this tech, and with Spotify planning to come out with the same tech in a little while, Apple would be shooting itself in the foot to limit it to its own headphone line.

 

[anthogag]

I'm old guy, so I had to look up what HiFi supposedly refers to. I initially assumed it was either just another BS gimmicky name for better music quality with the streaming. What I read though is that HiFi is this new thing wherein you buy separate pieces/components of equipment to create your audio system. Really, new? Growing up in the 70s as a teenager we did that. You had a separate amplifier, a separate tuner, a separate record player, a separate tape deck, and later on a separate CD player. It was what we called a modular system made up of the components you wanted, along with separate speakers of course. Some even added separate reel to reel tap players as well. So if this is what young people are calling HiFi, well you are reinventing the darn wheel. With the advent of boomboxes and Walkmans in the 1970s and 1980s, the trend was to scale down to a bookshelf system which was still somewhat modular but much smaller. When the MP3 players became popular in the late 1990s and exploded in popularity after the iPods were introduced, smaller and pocketable became the fashion. Maybe the younger folks are oblivious to the old stereo systems of their grandparents era, but those old systems predate HiFi systems by half a century. So I have to wonder, is HiFi really just a gimmicky, BS term to refer to better audio quality? After all, AirPods hardly fit the description I've read for HiFi.

"HiFi" means high fidelity. It doesn't mean you need various equipment. It means sound reproduction has very little distortion and you're hearing a very good reproduction of what was recorded.

 

[powerbook911]

It does make sense in terms of the spatial audio too.

I did a Tidal trial and the 3D music on there (if you have AirPods Pro or Max) was interesting.

I really hope the price remains the same, though I bet the competitors would be pretty shocked. Amazon HD is $15, Tidal $20, etc. $9.99 would be a big deal, but very exciting.

 

[ZzapDK]

... Tidal offers HiRes music through a lossless format called MQA which is beyond the scope of this discussion ...

Sorry for off topic, but I saw this interesting deep dive on MQA the other day (disclaimer: I have not heard MQA encoded material, so I couldn't possibly comment on quality, it just looks like it's not lossless)

 

[KrispE00]

Let's hope Windows 10 also get an updated Music app with FLAC support. And I wouldn't freak out about the AirPods thing. This is on iOS. On macos you will probably be able to choose que level of quality you want.

Since Apple has their own lossless ALAC format, I don’t think we’ll see FLAC support in iTunes/Music. Just convert your FLAC to ALAC.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Wouldn't there also be a hardware requirement the AirPods released in 2016 might not be able to support?

Spatial Audio? I’ve noticed that a lot of the music videos now support Spatial Audio and it does sound remixed as opposed as to what it had been previously.

 

[dumastudetto]

It's the same price according to the story earlier (I have a family sub as well, so don't know from experience).

I imagine $9.99 will probably be a bolt-on to your existing subscription. So if you have family, it'll cost $24.98 for HiFi, or $19.98 for a single subscription. It'll probably be a $9.99 bolt-on for Apple One subscriptions too, with maybe the addition of a top tier all-inclusive Apple One plan.

The music industry is pushing subscription services to raise prices and increase revenue. Spotify have reacted with price increases on multi-user/family plans. I suspect Apple has agreed to push out HiFi to raise revenues, before increasing prices on standard definition.

 

[JippaLippa]

Provided other brands of headphones will be supported, I'd totally join.

 

[tdar]

No one should ever say Apple AirPods and “HiFi” within the same sentence.

 

[Blowback]

Apple is laying the groundwork for adding HiFi support to Apple Music which would offer Apple Music subscribers and owners of compatible devices, such as certain models of AirPods, access to high-fidelity audio streaming, according to code within the iOS 14.6 beta discovered by MacRumors.

Earlier today, a report claimed that Apple will announce a new $9.99 per month Apple Music tier that offers HiFi music streaming in the "coming weeks." Now, code within the first beta of iOS 14.6 discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser confirms that Apple is exploring the option and preparing for a possible release.

Within the code for the first beta of the upcoming update, references to "lossless audio," "high-quality stereo streaming," and "HiFi" are found within the Apple Music app. Accompanying code within the beta suggests that HiFi streaming could be limited to only certain AirPods such as the AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and newer.

Presumably, HiFi support would also be available to customers without AirPods, although it's unknown if Apple will have certain hardware requirements for speakers, headphones, etc.. to support HiFi Apple Music streaming.

Wording such as "Route Incompatible" and "Route Unknown Compatibility" suggests that much like how Spatial Audio is limited to only the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, HiFi Apple Music streaming could be exclusive to certain generation AirPods and other compatible devices.

Additional code within the beta suggests that Apple could incorporate a dynamic way for Apple Music to switch between standard, compressed audio streaming and high-fidelity streaming. On the iPhone 12 with 5G, Apple has a "Smart Data Mode," which automatically switches between a 5G and 4G/LTE connection depending on the user's current needs, connection strength, and battery life.

According to code within the beta, Apple may take a similar approach with HiFi support on Apple Music, only offering users high-fidelity audio streaming when there's sufficient bandwidth or depending on other factors such as a user's data consumption.

Spotify has announced plans to include HiFi support for subscribers sometime this year but has yet to announce a specific date. Apple is reportedly preparing to announce the new HiFi tier as soon as a few weeks alongside the release of new third-generation AirPods. The new tier will reportedly cost the same as the current individual Apple Music tier.

Given the evidence that HiFi Apple Music support could be limited to only newer AirPods models, Apple may offer HiFi as a separate, more expensive tier for owners of compatible AirPods. Thus, customers with older AirPods would be able to retain their existing Apple Music subscription without HiFi support.

At WWDC last year, Apple did announce automatic switching for AirPods and Spatial Audio for AirPods Pro and newer AirPod products. With WWDC 2021 being just weeks away, Apple could announce the new Apple Music tier at the event, marketing them as an add-on feature for the third-generation AirPods.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously reported that the new AirPods would enter mass production in the third quarter of the year.

Article Link: iOS 14.6 Beta 1 Code Hints at Upcoming HiFi Apple Music Support

I already pay for Apple One....will not be giving them an additional 10$ just to get 'better' (read: As it should be....) music quality. In a related development , BMW is offering, for a price, 'Correct Air Pressure' inflation for the tires of their Top Tier vehicles. Hope the pricing is only part of the 'rumor'.

 

[Blowback]

I'm old guy, so I had to look up what HiFi supposedly refers to. I initially assumed it was either just another BS gimmicky name for better music quality with the streaming. What I read though is that HiFi is this new thing wherein you buy separate pieces/components of equipment to create your audio system. Really, new? Growing up in the 70s as a teenager we did that. You had a separate amplifier, a separate tuner, a separate record player, a separate tape deck, and later on a separate CD player. It was what we called a modular system made up of the components you wanted, along with separate speakers of course. Some even added separate reel to reel tap players as well. So if this is what young people are calling HiFi, well you are reinventing the darn wheel. With the advent of boomboxes and Walkmans in the 1970s and 1980s, the trend was to scale down to a bookshelf system which was still somewhat modular but much smaller. When the MP3 players became popular in the late 1990s and exploded in popularity after the iPods were introduced, smaller and pocketable became the fashion. Maybe the younger folks are oblivious to the old stereo systems of their grandparents era, but those old systems predate HiFi systems by half a century. So I have to wonder, is HiFi really just a gimmicky, BS term to refer to better audio quality? After all, AirPods hardly fit the description I've read for HiFi.

Yes...Crutchfield and Radio Shack (Marantz)! Remember it well...'open' tweeters up in the corners of the room! The days of 'DIY' truly.....

 

[Blowback]

What no iOS 14.5.1?

You and you 'new' emoji'.......!

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

I'm old guy, so I had to look up what HiFi supposedly refers to. I initially assumed it was either just another BS gimmicky name for better music quality with the streaming. What I read though is that HiFi is this new thing wherein you buy separate pieces/components of equipment to create your audio system. Really, new? Growing up in the 70s as a teenager we did that. You had a separate amplifier, a separate tuner, a separate record player, a separate tape deck, and later on a separate CD player. It was what we called a modular system made up of the components you wanted, along with separate speakers of course. Some even added separate reel to reel tap players as well. So if this is what young people are calling HiFi, well you are reinventing the darn wheel. With the advent of boomboxes and Walkmans in the 1970s and 1980s, the trend was to scale down to a bookshelf system which was still somewhat modular but much smaller. When the MP3 players became popular in the late 1990s and exploded in popularity after the iPods were introduced, smaller and pocketable became the fashion. Maybe the younger folks are oblivious to the old stereo systems of their grandparents era, but those old systems predate HiFi systems by half a century. So I have to wonder, is HiFi really just a gimmicky, BS term to refer to better audio quality? After all, AirPods hardly fit the description I've read for HiFi.

What the hell are you on about

 

[LeadingHeat]

Yeah….so they would drop the “basic” tier to $4.99 a month or something similar and replace the $9.99 a month tier with HiFi?

I could live with that, for sure. Just drop the family plan to $9.99 too then 😉

 

[Attirex]

I'm old guy, so I had to look up what HiFi supposedly refers to. I initially assumed it was either just another BS gimmicky name for better music quality with the streaming. What I read though is that HiFi is this new thing wherein you buy separate pieces/components of equipment to create your audio system. Really, new? Growing up in the 70s as a teenager we did that. You had a separate amplifier, a separate tuner, a separate record player, a separate tape deck, and later on a separate CD player. It was what we called a modular system made up of the components you wanted, along with separate speakers of course. Some even added separate reel to reel tap players as well. So if this is what young people are calling HiFi, well you are reinventing the darn wheel. With the advent of boomboxes and Walkmans in the 1970s and 1980s, the trend was to scale down to a bookshelf system which was still somewhat modular but much smaller. When the MP3 players became popular in the late 1990s and exploded in popularity after the iPods were introduced, smaller and pocketable became the fashion. Maybe the younger folks are oblivious to the old stereo systems of their grandparents era, but those old systems predate HiFi systems by half a century. So I have to wonder, is HiFi really just a gimmicky, BS term to refer to better audio quality? After all, AirPods hardly fit the description I've read for HiFi.

Good Lord, really? You’re either not that old and/or never owned audio equipment in the Sixties or Seventies. People used to refer to their stereos as the “Hifi,” as in, “Honey, put some jazz on the hifi while I mix a Tom Collins.” For proof, listen to the sample at the beginning of the Beastie Boys’ track The Blue Nun.

 

[cmaier]

I agree. I have a pair of Nuraphones that boast the ability to take advantage of this tech, and with Spotify planning to come out with the same tech in a little while, Apple would be shooting itself in the foot to limit it to its own headphone line.

Why would that be shooting themselves in the foot? I think they’d rather sell headphones than Apple Music.

 

[0924487]

Apple might have special hardware requirements for Hifi speakers and headphones? What the hell!? Speakers and headphones were playing back Hifi music for half a century!

I bet they will start a new MFI program just for this.

 

[Wildkraut]

Apple will try to „force“ the ones who already own Airpods, and use Spotify, and generally would like to have HiFi, to join Apple Music. And also „force“ the ones who use Apple Music, and generally would like to have HiFi, but currently own other Headphones, to buy Airpods.

They know many people already own Airpods, limiting Apple Music HiFi to Airpods per Firmware|Apple Music|Codec interlocking, is a new way to anticompetitively force customers away from Spotify, else Airpods owners would have to give their Airpods up for Spotify HiFi.

A new way trying to accomplish their primary goal, which is to kill Spotify. Killing hardware headphones competition is a nice secondary side effect.

Maybe they „rethink“ about the „secondary killer side effect“, and introduce MiFi HiFi Mafia certification to get a additional bucks of other hardware businesses. Force hardware manufacturers to join MiFi HiFi with Apple Music customers subscription weight.

Anticompetitive behavior by interlocking business types par excellence.

 

[dude-x]

If Apple is talking about HiFi for AirPods on Bluetooth, this is an interesting development, because of the various BT sound codecs (SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX HD, LDAC, listed in order of worse to best), iOS only supports SBC and AAC. MacOS supports SBC, AAC and the original AptX codec (which you have to search for on how to enable). This means that Apple is looking to support something better than AAC, hopefully something comparable to Sony's LDAC or at least the higher end version of AptX.

And hopefully that means files compressed with ALAC or FLAC or some other proprietary lossless codec.

I subscribe to Tidal and it streams FLAC and occasionally high bitrate MP3/AAC (if the owner refuses to give permission) and MQA (a controversial compressed format).

I have a DAC/AMP combo with headphones that I connect to my MBP. My DAC also supports BT, so I can connect my iOS devices. And I have to say that the loss of quality over BT is pretty noticeable on my headphones. While it does sound "clear and transparent" with my DAC over BT (AAC), it's pretty obvious that there is a bit of loss of detail (cymbals may sound a bit muddy, bass is a bit weaker, change in volume or bad quality due to BT interference).

I don't have golden ears (and now at my age, I have a bit of tinnitus, and a bit of loss of hearing) but I can tell the difference between a well encoded AAC file and a CD quality wave file. The difference isn't that stark (which is good, because compressed music is everywhere and if it did sound worse, it would be grating) and I would "fail" the blind test for music I am not familiar with. But you can hear a difference if you A/B test yourself.

Anyway, I am curious to see who is the main audience for HiFi. If it's wireless AirPod users, they will need a new codec (and by extension hardware to play cleanly) but if its the general HiFi crowd using Tidal/AmazonHD/Qobuz, then that's fine, it would be a boon for me since Apple's catalog is broader.

 

[bwayne]

Actually I don’t mind if it’s locked down to Apple devices only. If it’s streaming who cares ? At home I’m still into vinyl. On the move I’d be okay with AirPod Max if the experience is worth it. I have 8 Terabytes of well groomed and curated FLAC albums - only occasionally listened actually.

At least though I want to download to the iPod for offline though.

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

The iPod HiFi was discontinued long ago, and they're only just getting around to supporting it?

iPod HiFi

 

[bwayne]

What if ….. the Hi-Fi service plan is $9.99 and then a single user of current service is FREE when you own an iOS or MacOS device ? Family plan at $4.99?

Bye bye Spotify!