When you subscribe to a lossless streaming service, such as Spotify, you get access to a slew of great features, from being able to stream your favorite tunes to the ability to create playlists. It’s also important to understand how your subscription is priced, and whether or not you’re getting a deal.
Apple Music
Both Apple Music and Spotify offer a great selection of music. However, there is a definite difference between the two. The difference lies in the quality and the features.
Apple Music is a music streaming service that gives users the opportunity to hear music in high resolution and lossless form. This is the highest quality stream available, but it requires a good DAC and headphones. While this may seem like a great feature, it’s only available to subscribers.
If you’re looking for a great experience, you should consider signing up for Apple Music or Spotify. Both services offer exclusive content, as well as music videos, podcasts, and radio programs. It’s also possible to play the songs you own offline. You can even browse your own music library through the app.
One thing that Apple Music and Spotify do differently is their recommendation algorithms. On the Apple Music app, you’ll see a section called ‘Listen Now’ that suggests songs based on your activity and listening history. Similarly, on the Spotify app, you’ll see a ‘Your Library’ tab where you can save your favorite songs.
There’s also a ‘Show All’ option that lets you explore artists and albums. This section contains a brief biography of each artist, as well as a selection of their best tracks.
The new iOS 15 update has a feature called ‘Shared with You’, which allows you to share a song you’ve heard with a friend. In addition to the above-mentioned features, the app also includes a ‘Radio’ button that plays your favourite local radio station.
Unlike Spotify, you can’t play the music in full resolution through your wireless headphones. However, it does support Dolby Atmos.
Lastly, the app offers a ‘New Music Mix’ that includes new releases and a ‘Get Up!’ playlist to help you get into the holiday spirit. With both apps, you’ll also find a ‘Search’ feature for finding new songs and tracks.
While the Apple Music app is the most complete feature-rich option, it’s the Spotify app that really stands out. Its ‘Show all’ and ‘Radio’ buttons provide a brighter white interface, and the ‘Browse’ and ‘Your Library’ tabs have transparent effects.
TIDAL
TIDAL is a music streaming service that offers high quality music, including lossless audio. Several artists release exclusive tracks on TIDAL. Tidal aims to make music streaming a more lucrative source of income for musicians.
While TIDAL is pricier than Spotify, it provides more features. For example, it offers a radio feature, allowing users to create radio playlists with artists and genres they like. In addition, it allows users to download music for off-line listening.
Tidal’s user interface is clean and easy to navigate. You can use the sidebar to filter content by genre, artist, or country. It also has a “Daily Mix” feature, which mixes songs you’ve listened to recently. Like the My Mix feature, the Daily Mix is made up of newly released songs from your favorite artists.
The app offers several different audio quality settings. You can choose between Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) tracks and Standard (320 kbps) or HiFi (1,411 kbps) files.
TIDAL’s catalog includes more than 90 million tracks. They also offer videos, virtual content, and concerts. There are a variety of extras, such as a virtual reality concert feature.
If you are a true audiophile, you will appreciate Tidal’s lossless audio quality. Most music services stream music using lossy compression. This reduces the storage space for music. However, TIDAL allows you to download the files to your computer for offline listening.
Both TIDAL and Spotify have music recommendations. Each service uses a algorithm to learn what type of music you like. This information is then used to create a recommendation list. These playlists can be helpful if you’re looking for new music or want to try out a particular genre.
Unlike Tidal, Spotify has an easier way to browse through its music. For instance, you can look at charts to see which songs are on the uptrend. Another feature, called Release Radar, shows which new music you should be listening to.
Tidal’s user interface also makes finding features easy. In addition to the Now Playing bar, there are links to content filters and a social section. Similarly, there is a dark mode for the platform.
Friend Activity section
The Friend Activity section of the Spotify desktop app is the place to be for finding out what your friends are listening to. The desktop application has a plethora of features. Whether you are looking to collaborate with friends, create playlists, or download music for offline listening, you can do it all.
For starters, it’s a good idea to go into the app and configure your settings so that you can access the feature. Luckily, it is a relatively painless process. Depending on your preferences, you can choose to let the app keep track of your friends, or you can opt to have it automatically follow your Facebook friends. In addition to allowing you to view their listening activity, you can also choose to show up in their sidebar.
If you are not too keen on letting the app track your friends’ activities, you can hide the widget from sight. You can even disable the Friend Activity tab altogether. To do this, head over to your profile and click on the gear icon at the top of the screen. Once done, you’ll be able to set a list of your friends, or unfollow them if you don’t like the way they listen to music.
One of the coolest aspects of the desktop app is its ability to create and play collaborative playlists. Previously, if you were the type of person who liked to create playlists, you would have to do it yourself. However, the app makes it a snap to create a music album or song for a friend. Besides, the app’s ability to sync with Spotify’s social media channels means that you can add friends, remove them, and update their profiles all from one page.
It’s a fun and functional feature that demonstrates just how much the company values its users. As of 2020, the company estimates that 182 million users are subscribed to the service, making it the world’s biggest player in the streaming game. Whether you’re a music buff who wants to enjoy your favorite tunes on the go, or a student with a passion for music, the desktop app is a great way to discover new artists, find out what your friends are listening to, and more.
HiFi tier
One of the top requested features of Spotify users is the ability to listen to high-quality music. That’s why Spotify has announced a HiFi tier for its lossless streaming.
The HiFi tier will allow Premium subscribers to listen to CD-quality, lossless audio. It will be available to a select group of markets later this year. However, it’s unknown how much this tier will cost.
While Spotify hasn’t officially announced a price yet, the rumor mill has been abuzz with speculation on how much the HiFi tier will cost. Most estimates are in the range of $20-$25 per month. This would be a significant upgrade from the standard Premium subscription.
The HiFi tier will likely come with a free trial. That’s because it’s unclear how many users would be willing to pay for the higher-quality music.
In the meantime, Spotify is working with the largest speaker manufacturers on its new HiFi feature. Eventually, the new service will become a part of the Spotify app and be integrated with other streaming services.
There are currently three options for users to stream music. You can choose to play music in standard 320kbps audio, or choose the higher-quality Ogg Vorbis or HD-AAC streams. Although the company hasn’t disclosed the exact technical specifications for these higher-quality streams, it has hinted that they offer improved sound quality.
It’s still unclear what exactly Spotify HiFi will offer, but it’s believed that the streaming service will be integrated with the Spotify Connect smart speakers. At the same time, it could come with other features, such as a headphone tuner. Ultimately, Spotify hopes to make its HiFi as accessible as possible to as many fans as possible.
However, the rollout of the HiFi tier is unlikely to happen as soon as Spotify would like. Typically, the launch of new features is rolled out in the key markets first.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been making a number of high-resolution streaming upgrades recently. Amazon Music HD offers 90 million songs in High Definition. They have a 1-month free trial, as well. Other services such as Tidal and Deezer offer hi-fi streaming.
