During its announcement, Spotify promised to roll out Spotify HiFi in “select markets later this year”. Nine months later, 2021 is about to end, and there’s no word on Spotify HiFi’s availability. We hoped the streaming giant might launch HiFi as a Christmas surprise (but that didn’t happen), and it looks like the company may fail to keep up its promise.
Spotify’s inability to launch HiFi evidently stands out, primarily due to the popular Spotify alternative Apple Music. Unlike Spotify that announced HiFi back in February and has still not rolled out even a public beta, Apple Music announced Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless audio alongside Spatial audio in May and started rolling out the feature in June. Wider availability and Android support came in July. The best part? Apple Music’s Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless audio comes at no additional cost.
On the other hand, we still have no clarity on whether Spotify HiFi will come as a separate tier or at no added price for Spotify Premium users. Spotify’s press release says “Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality to Spotify HiFi”, which leads us to believe the so-called ‘upgrade’ could cost more. Considering the recent price hikes and the fact that competitors are offering Hi-Res streaming (24-bit/ 192 kHz) at no additional cost for subscribers, Spotify will have a hard time convincing customers to pay extra for HiFi.
From what we can tell from the outside, the delay in the Spotify HiFi release doesn’t seem like a technical problem. That’s because the feature seems to be ready behind the scenes for some time now. In fact, users on Reddit have accidentally spotted the HiFi menu and managed to record the onboarding flow as well.
- Compatible Speakers and TWS Earbuds
One possible reason why Spotify is facing hurdles could be because of partner OEMs. To recall, the company said it was working with speaker manufacturers to make Spotify HiFi available via Spotify Connect. Given the supply chain woes due to the pandemic, it’s possible that the companion Spotify HiFi-enabled speakers are not quite ready for prime time.
- Strategic Shift Towards Podcasts
Another possibility why Spotify HiFi is still not available could be due to a perceivable change in priorities. As you might be aware, Spotify has been heavily focusing on podcasts lately and has been striking deals with high-profile personalities such as Joe Rogan and Michelle Obama. Although unlikely, pushing podcasts and podcast-centric features might have forced the company to put Spotify HiFi on the backburner.
And let’s not forget the complex world of music licensing deals. Spotify might be facing hurdles with leading music labels to kickstart the transition and expand deals. The streaming giant is no stranger to such hurdles, as we have already heard of (and seen) music labels hold Spotify’s expansion in India hostage for close to two years. A massive chunk of the Spotify library was missing in India due to a licensing issue with Warner Music Group.
Often regarded as a company that takes feedback from the community seriously, the least Spotify could do right now is share an update on the current status of Spotify HiFi. Even if it is delayed, possibly to next year, revealing the updated timeline will help customers decide if they would rather wait or switch to competing services like Apple Music, Qobuz, or TIDAL.
Spotify still has time to turn things around if it releases HiFi at no additional cost right in time for New Year’s, possibly alongside Spotify HiFi-enabled hardware from partner OEMs. Although Spotify hasn’t officially promised or said anything, Hi-Res audio support (24-bit/ 192kHz) would be sweet and would justify the delay. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Spotify in the lossless music streaming space, as only a 2022 release seems likely now.
