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Is Apple Music lossless/uncompressed?

I gave up following what the hell Apple was doing with music long ago cause it’s just been a confusing and disappointing mess, but a friend is considering using Apple Music and asked me if it’s lossless so thought I’d ask here to hopefully get the latest poop.  I thought I recently read they were introducing some new lossless format but I dunno about resolution or what it might cost?  Also, how does the music selection/resolution compare to Qobuz or Tidal, and does Apple Music offer hi res?  My friend is planning on using the Lightning connection from his iPhone to an AQ Dragonfly Cobalt in case that’s important.  Thanks for any thoughts/info. 

soix

Showing 1 response by jbuhl

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jbuhl
1,017 posts
 

From what I understand Apple music streams in ALAC format up to 24/192 resolution.

 

From support.apple.com:

 

If you subscribe to Apple Music, you can play and download music encoded using the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which makes files smaller while preserving all of the original data in the file. In Apple Music, lossless music is available in two formats:

  • Lossless: Up to 24-bit, 48 kHz

  • Hi-Res Lossless: Up to 24-bit, 192 kHz

Albums and songs available in lossless have the Lossless button next to them.

Note: Apple Music and lossless aren’t available in all countries or regions. See the Apple Support article Availability of Apple Media Services.

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