Apple Music will offer lossless audio to subscribers next month for no additional cost.
The 75-million track catalogue will be streamable at 16 bit/44.1 kHz, the resolution standard inherited from the CD. Apple Music will also offer a higher resolution 24 bit/192 kHz option, but this requires an external soundcard or a dedicated USB digital-to-analogue convertor. Streaming audio is typically only available in compressed codecs to save space and speed up performance—users will need to opt in to the lossless service as the larger file sizes and bandwidth required could tax weaker connections.
Apple Music also announced support for the Dolby Atmos surround sound format. Only "thousands of songs" on Apple Music are available in the format, which was originally designed for movie theatres but has been ported to consumer products like home theatres, headphones and smartphones. The latest generation of iPhone, iPad and Mac contain Dolby Atmos compatible speakers, while AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip also support the format.