Apple may not let Spotify's HiFi plan go unanswered, as a new report from music site Hits Daily Double states that it is working on a HiFi plan for its music service, alongside the launch of the third generation of AirPods. This rumor contrasts with other reports suggesting that AirPods 3 will not arrive until the fall.
While the report itself does not come with much evidence, 9to5Mac has found code within iOS 14.6 that indicates upcoming HiFi support for Apple Music. The report states that Apple is expected to announce HiFi support through Apple Music in the coming weeks, and also mentions that it will cost $9.99 per month, similar to the regular subscription, meaning the company will not charge extra for the HiFi plan.
9to5Mac confirmed that the HiFi plan might indeed be coming to Apple Music, as the first beta of iOS 14.6, released last week to developers, includes new code added to the music app specifically mentioning Dolby Atmos, Dolby Audio, and Lossless.
Despite Apple Music supporting its own HiFi audio codec ALAC, the music app has never offered support for Dolby Atmos or Dolby Audio. What makes this more interesting is that these references were included only in the beta of iOS 14.6; 9to5Mac checked internal files of iOS 14.5 and iOS 14.6 beta 2, but the code is not present. This suggests that the mentions of Dolby Atmos and Dolby Audio are related to something new Apple is trying to keep hidden.
HiFi songs involve less audio compression, meaning they sound better with more detail. For example, the Tidal service has long been known for offering a HiFi plan, while Spotify recently announced that it is also working on a release that includes access to HiFi songs. However, Apple Music currently offers only songs that use the AAC codec at a bitrate of 256 kbps.
iOS 14.6 is also expected to enable paid subscriptions within the Podcasts app, announced during the company's special event in April. The company states that this new Podcasts feature will be available to users in May, so it may be possible for iOS 14.6 to launch to the public later this month, confirming the Apple Music HiFi report.
