The short answer is that we don’t know when Spotify HiFi will arrive, but according to at least one Spotify executive, the service is still coming.
Speaking to The Verge this month, Spotify co-chairman Gustav Söderström said the company is “still going to do” Spotify HiFi, but “we’re going to do it in a way that makes sense for us and our listeners. “, adding that “the industry changed and we had to adapt.” We will discuss specifically how the industry changed in a moment.
Notably, Söderström didn’t offer a timeline for when Spotify HiFi might finally arrive, beyond uncertainty at some point.
The last time we heard from Spotify about HiFi was in early 2022, when the company offered a vaguely worded announcement that offered few details;
We know that HiFi quality sound is important to you. We feel the same and are excited to bring the Spotify HiFi experience to Premium users in the future. But we don’t have timing details to share yet. We will of course update you here when we can.
We reached out to Spotify shortly after that announcement, but a representative would only say that the company had “nothing more to share with HiFi then beyond the excitement of the upcoming launch.”
Later, Spotify CEO Daniel Eck avoided a question about Spotify HiFi during the host’s Q3 2022 earnings call in October 2022, while the feature was completely left out of Spotify’s last Stream On event in March 2023. :
There have been other hints about the arrival of Spotify HiFi. According to a post on Reddit in October 2022, a longtime Spotify user who had recently switched to Apple Music claimed to have received an inquiry detailing a new plan, “Spotify Platinum,” which boasts HiFi- who, along with other features like Studio Sound, Headphone Tuner, Audio Insights, Library Pro, Playlist Pro, and ad-limited podcasts, all for an additional fee (more on that in a moment).
The Redditor said the survey asked if they would return to Spotify “within 30 days of nesting” for a “one-to-one.” [those] Properties.”
Here we are five months after that Reddit post and still no word on Spotify Platinum.
The “HiFi” icon was previously spotted on the Spotify app back in May 2021, with a leaked “Hi, HiFi” video appearing a few months later.