It seems Spotify is testing its new HiFi feature in the app ahead of the launch. The new feature was spotted in the app by a Reddit user, and seems to confirm that Spotify is preparing to release HiFi soon.

Spotify Is Testing Its New HiFi Tier

In February 2021, Spotify announced it would release HiFi lossless audio, likely as a new tier, later on in the year. Apple Music just released its HiFi feature, so it would stand to reason that Spotify would want to compete as soon as possible.

In either testing or an accidental glitch, Reddit user themonarc managed to find the new HiFi feature in the Spotify app, and shared their findings in a post on the platform. The user explained they could briefly see the new HiFi button on the Now Playing screen of the app.

Quickly tapping on the button, the user could also see the new HiFi menu and explainer pages. These pages explain that the HiFi option supports 16-bit 44.1kHz streaming through wired earphones.

Notably, the track the user was playing wasn't in HiFi quality. This suggests that the feature is not quite finished and ready for release yet. Alternatively, Spotify may just have left HiFi playback turned off for testing purposes.

From the screenshots shared on Reddit, it also seems that the HiFi feature is incompatible with wireless headphones. This is expected due to audio encoding. Apple's new lossless tier also doesn't support Bluetooth headphones.

Spotify HiFi Is Possibly Coming Very Soon

In Spotify's initial announcement the company gave no indication to when the feature would release, other than it would be sometime in 2021.

Spotting the feature in the app suggests that it might be launching sooner rather than later, possibly expedited due to Apple releasing its lossless offering.