Soon after Apple announced the arrival of lossless music for Apple Music, the company revealed that neither the AirPods family of headphones and earbuds, nor the HomePod smart speaker lineup, will support the high fidelity music listening experience. However, there is finally some good news for folks who bought one of Apple’s pricey smart speakers, as lossless music support is coming to the HomePod and its mini sibling.
“HomePod and HomePod mini currently use AAC to ensure excellent audio quality. Support for lossless is coming in a future software update,” the company mentions in a support document. However, it is unclear when the aforementioned software update that adds support for lossless music arrives. But with WWDC just around the corner, we might not have to wait much longer.
The HomePod received acclaim for its audio output, but at $349, it was not the most affordable smart speaker out there. Many pointed out that despite its impressive audio hardware, Apple failed to capitalize on its potential. However, it appears that existing HomePod owners can finally get some extra value from their pricey investment. Just in case you’re wondering, Apple has officially discontinued the HomePod and is currently selling only the smaller – and less expensive – mini variant.
What about other Apple devices?
Let’s start with the Apple TV 4K that was launched a few weeks ago. Apple says that its new streaming box only supports the Lossless Music tier, and not the Hi-Res Lossless experience that is all about music with a sample rate of 48 kHz or higher. Additionally, you need to connect the device to an AV receiver using an HDMI cable as well.
However, when it comes to AirPods, AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max, they will not support lossless music playback. Apple claims that its AAC codec will ensure that you get the best music listening experience via Apple Music, but true lossless is not possible over Bluetooth. In order to enjoy lossless music on your iPad, iPhone or Mac, you’ll need an external digital-to-analog converter.