Is Apple Music lossless/uncompressed?

I listen to Classical so it’s hard for me to comment on the depth of catalog but I believe that they carry as many tracks as any of the other top claimed services.

  They are indeed lossless but it depends on the playback device.  With the possible exception of Eversolo (and that may be temporary) you can’t stream it directly except with Apple TV, and that will get you mp3 sound(the Apple equivalent-I forgot the acronym for the file format, but it’s the Apple version of mp3).

 Airplay is an improvement over Bluetooth and almost CD quality.  Either option of course throttles High Resolution offerings to a lower resolution.  Chromecast is the best SQ option but you will hit occasional glitches where Google and Apple don’t wish to play nice together, and you will need an Android device for Chromecast 

There is an alternative if using Airplay  - buy a 1st generation AirPort Express off EBay (got mine for $10). Set up to join your existing network. Use the 3mm audio out to connect to your amp/preamp etc. (!st gen AirPort Express are Airplay 1 receivers and the stream from the iPhone will be lossless). Darko's site has additional info. Won't help getting hi-res however. 

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.

To state the obvious.
ALAC isn’t on par with higher bit rate FLAC files. I have some ALAC files. At same bit depth they sound just as the FLAC files do. 
What you might proffer your friend about is the interface. Apple music is easy to use. But sending files via airplay tosses out quality as that’s not as streaming. Just say no to airplay. 

My understanding is that Apple is lossless IF you're streaming Apple music directly to the source via a wired connection. In other words, you can't stream from a phone to your streaming device via airplay because Apple downsamples. If you have a tablet connected to the streamer then you can get lossless playback. 

Darko Audio has a few youtube videos that speaks to this disconnect about streaming "lossless" via Apple airplay using the phone as the controller. 

“My friend is planning on using the Lightning connection from his iPhone to an AQ Dragonfly Cobalt in case that’s important. ”

Apple Lossless SQ would be more than adequate and enjoyable in above setup. 

@lalitk 

I actually missed that last sentence in the OP.  That is an interesting way to do it and he might get a decent result.

  AirPort Express I think used to top out at CD quality.

  AirPlay isn’t that bad, pretty close to a standard redbook CD.  It’s definitely an improvement over Bluetooth although I haven’t heard the latest Bluetooth codec.  I use streaming primarily to investigate material that I don’t own and then if I really like it I buy a CD or download.  With some older recordings, especially stuff that appeared on budget Classical labels such as Vox, there really isn’t any difference between the CD and AirPlay 

It’s lossless but it’s not on par with Qobuz or Tidal and as highlighted by others it’s challenging and takes some ingenuity to get the source to your HiFi gear in a lossless format.  It’s only lossless with the source, your phone or I-Phone connected directly, hard wired, not over AirPlay.  I got excited when they announced lossless as they have a large catalog of music that rivals any service and it keeps you in the Apple Ecosystem if you have Apple products, but it’s extremely limiting when trying to implement Apple Music in your HiFi rig and it won’t quite match the top services or Amazon Music for that matter.  Their ALAC still compresses the file, unlike a FLAC file that streams in its native format. 
 

Yes, albums marked “Lossless” on Apple Music service is ALAC coded and has Hi Res potential after ALAC enabled DAC conversion, however we don’t have any hi end Apple Music streamers on the market so ALAC streaming is basically limited to Apple devices and several USB type portable DACs similar to Dragonfly Cobalt.

Apple Music streaming service is not comparable to Qobuz or Tidal streaming services due to absence of Hi End Apple Music network players - streamers on the market. 

Anytime you use Apple products or services you enter the Apple 'walled garden' that only works well with other Apple products. Some people like to refer to it as a 'walled jungle' to reflect the complexity and and challenges within - see discussion above. I tend to agree, and find other industry standards far more agreeable both technically and sonically.

Tell your friend to go with Tidal and Qobuz instead of Apple Music as they sound better than Apple Music and will always be lossless no matter what device you are using. Tidal now offers Tidal MAX, which is hi res FLAC files up to 24/192 just like Qobuz. Tidal has recently dropped its MQA. Qobuz has bigger selections of hi res FLAC files than Tidal. But either Tidal or Qobuz would sound better than Apple Music even the lossless version of Apple Music. 

Yeah, the multiple different responses here are indicative of Apple’s lack of focus on music and why I even had to ask this question in the first place.  ALAC reminds me of Betamax back in the day minus the superior performance, and it’s not like they don’t have the capital to just hit the ball outta the park if they really wanted to.  In the end I just told my friend to compare Apple Music to Qobuz and/or Tidal, and if he couldn’t hear a meaningful difference in his setup to just go with the one that has the music selection that best matches with his music preferences.  Thanks for all the thoughts/info. 

The Apple Music app on Apple TV is easier to work with than using a phone, (although of course you need a TV to manage it) - it outputs digital over a HDMI cable, but reduces any higher res streams to 48kz

Almost all stereo tracks are 'lossless'.

I find the quality fine for everyday listening.