Lossless simply won't work over any Bluetooth connection
In the summer of 2021, Apple extended an invitation to a richer listening experience through two new Apple Music features — lossless audio and spatial audio — each representing a different philosophy of sound. Yet as with most technological promises, the path to that experience is lined with conditions: the right wires, the right devices, the right ecosystem. Humanity's pursuit of perfect sound continues, but access remains uneven, shaped as much by hardware and platform loyalty as by the music itself.
- Apple's two new audio features arrive with real promise but immediately divide listeners by what they own — wired versus wireless, Apple ecosystem versus everything else.
- Lossless audio's demand for wired connections and external DACs creates an unexpected paradox: Apple's own AirPods, including the premium AirPods Max, are locked out of the feature entirely.
- Spatial audio is more accessible but carries its own wall — Android users are excluded outright, and the Dolby Atmos catalog remains thin, leaving early adopters with impressive hardware and limited content.
- The rollout itself is still incomplete, giving listeners a narrow window of time to assess which feature — if either — justifies new spending before the full picture comes into focus.
Apple Music arrived at WWDC 2021 carrying two ambitious audio upgrades, but each one comes with a different set of demands — and neither works quite as seamlessly as the announcement might suggest.
Lossless audio is the more exacting of the two. Using Apple's own ALAC codec, it preserves every detail of a recording without compression, available in CD-quality or Hi-Res Audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. The obstacle is Bluetooth itself, which cannot carry that volume of data — meaning AirPods of every variety, the HomePod, and the HomePod mini are all currently excluded. Listeners who want lossless must reach for wired headphones, and those chasing the highest resolution will need an external DAC connected to their device. It is a setup that asks for both investment and inconvenience.
Spatial audio, by contrast, is far more forgiving in its hardware requirements. Powered by Dolby Atmos mastering, it wraps sound into a 360-degree field and works with virtually any headphones — or even the built-in speakers on newer iPhones and iPads. AirPods and select Beats models trigger it automatically; everyone else can switch it on manually in Settings.
The catch with spatial audio is geography rather than hardware: it exists only within Apple's ecosystem. iOS 14.6, macOS 11.4, tvOS 14.6 — these are the gates. Android users find no entry. And across both features, the content library tells its own story: fewer songs have received Atmos mastering than exist in lossless format, meaning the right setup may still leave a listener searching for something worthy to play.
With the rollout still unfolding, there is time to weigh which feature — if either — genuinely fits a listener's life before committing to new hardware.
Apple Music just rolled out two new audio features that promise to transform how you listen to music—but the catch is that each one demands different hardware, and neither works the way you might hope.
The first feature, lossless audio, arrived as part of Apple's announcements at WWDC 2021 and is now gradually reaching users. It's the more demanding of the two. Lossless means the music files are compressed in a way that doesn't throw away any data, unlike the lossy formats most streaming services use. The result is richer sound with more audible detail. Apple built its own codec for this, called ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), and it comes in two flavors: CD quality at 16-bit/44.1kHz, or true Hi-Res Audio at 24-bit/192kHz. The problem is that lossless files contain too much data to travel over Bluetooth. That's why Apple's own AirPods—all of them, including the AirPods Pro and the newer AirPods Max—cannot play lossless music. Neither can the HomePod or HomePod mini, though Apple says that will change eventually. If you want lossless, you need wired headphones. And if you want the highest resolution, you'll need to plug an external DAC (digital-to-analog converter) into your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. It's a setup that demands both money and patience.
The second feature, spatial audio, is far more forgiving. It uses Dolby Atmos mastering to create a 360-degree sound field around the listener, mapping instruments and vocals across an imaginary sphere. Unlike lossless, spatial audio works with any headphones—wired or wireless. It even works with the built-in speakers on newer iPhones and iPads, though headphones will give you a better experience. If you own AirPods or certain Beats models like the Beats Flex or Powerbeats Pro, spatial audio will play automatically when you connect them. For everything else, you can enable it manually in Settings under Music, toggling Dolby Atmos to "Always On."
But spatial audio has its own limitation: it's locked to Apple's ecosystem. The feature works on iPhones running iOS 14.6 or later, iPads on the same version, Macs on macOS 11.4 or later, and Apple TV 4K on tvOS 14.6 or later. If you're an Android user, you're out of luck—Apple Music won't support spatial audio on that platform. The HomePod and HomePod mini do work, as do certain Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers and soundbars.
The real friction point is that fewer songs currently support spatial audio than support lossless, since Atmos mastering requires artists and labels to do additional work. That means you might set up all the right hardware only to find limited content to actually listen to. For now, lossless offers a bigger catalog, but it demands the more expensive and cumbersome setup. Spatial audio is easier to access but narrower in scope. Neither feature is available to all Apple Music subscribers yet—the rollout is still underway—so there's time to figure out which one matters to you before you buy anything new.
Citas Notables
True lossless audio simply won't work over any existing Bluetooth connection— Apple's technical specifications for Apple Music lossless
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
So if I want the best possible sound from Apple Music, I need to buy new equipment?
Not necessarily. It depends on what you already own and what you're willing to spend. Lossless absolutely requires wired headphones and probably an external DAC if you want the highest quality. Spatial audio is much cheaper to access—you might already have compatible headphones.
Why can't AirPods handle lossless? They're Apple's own product.
Bluetooth doesn't have enough bandwidth. Lossless files are too large to transmit wirelessly without losing the whole point of lossless. It's a fundamental technical limitation, not a choice Apple made.
And spatial audio works with any headphones?
Yes, any headphones at all. But there's a catch—it only works if you're using an Apple device. Android users get nothing. It's a walled garden.
How many songs actually have spatial audio?
That's the problem. Fewer songs support Atmos than support lossless right now. You could set everything up perfectly and then discover there's not much to listen to.
So what should someone actually do?
If you're serious about sound quality and willing to invest, go for lossless with wired headphones. If you want something easier and you're already in the Apple ecosystem, spatial audio is worth trying. But don't expect either one to be a game-changer yet.