In a new thread on the Spotify Community website, Spotify users continued to express frustrations with the company’s inability to deliver on its HiFi promise. Now, the company has provided a new “update” on the matter, and it doesn’t instill much hope.

As we covered last month, Spotify HiFi is still nowhere to be found as that deadline has come and gone. What would ‘pro’ playlists and music library features look like? We’ll have to wait and see.Spotify first announced its plans to roll out a new Spotify HiFi tier in February of last year, saying that it would launch “in select markets” by the end of 2021. On that note, count us very intrigued by the customer survey’s mention of “Library Pro” and “Playlist Pro” as additional features in the mooted Platinum plan, alongside “Limited-ad Spotify podcasts”. Perhaps including other features alongside hi-res music will help. However, it would be a bold (read: risky) move after Apple Music seemingly swept away any foundations for music services to charge a premium for higher-quality audio, before Amazon Music fast-followed. A twice-the-price subscription might be welcomed by campaigners who’ve criticised Spotify for largely sticking with its $9.99 individual subscription price since its launch in 2008. Still, the ‘Platinum’ branding indicates that Spotify’s plans may be fairly advanced. Surveys to test the waters for new ideas and models do not always signify short-term launch plans, and fairly often whatever’s being floated does not even happen in the longer term. “Does this mean it’s FINALLY about to happen?” asked the redditor, although the sensible answer to that question is “not necessarily”.

One former subscriber shared on Reddit screenshots of a surveyasking them what might persuade them to rejoin, including a $19.99-a-month ‘Platinum’ subscription including “HiFi” and “Studio Sound” features, along with “Audio Insights”.

It seemed that Spotify’s plans had been complicated by Apple Music’s addition of spatial and lossless audio at no additional cost to subscribers – a move that immediately spurred Amazon Music abandon its own higher-priced HD tier.īack to the drawing board? Perhaps, but judging from a leaked customer survey, Spotify may not have given up on the idea of charging more for hi-res music. However, the end of 2021 came and went with no launch. In February 2021, Spotify announced that it would be launching a new tier of music subscription called Spotify HiFi, with the emphasis on higher-quality streams.

Spotify hi res