Apple Music’s lossless settings come with a hardware caveat
An Engadget guide maps out Apple Music’s quality and equaliser controls, while noting that connection type and playback equipment shape what listeners can hear.
Apple Music users can adjust streaming and download quality, enable Lossless or Hi-Res Lossless, and tailor playback with an equaliser, according to a guide published by Engadget.
The guide describes Lossless as up to 24-bit/48kHz and Hi-Res Lossless as up to 24-bit/192kHz. Lossless is off by default because it uses more data. Separate quality options are available for Wi-Fi, cellular streaming and downloaded music.
Engadget says Hi-Res Lossless is intended for listeners with dedicated hi-fi equipment. Actual playback quality also depends on the device and connection: iOS does not support high-resolution Bluetooth codecs, so the setting alone does not ensure high-resolution playback through wireless headphones.
Equaliser access varies by platform. The desktop apps offer a ten-band EQ with presets and custom settings; on iOS, it is in Settings. The Android app redirects users to the phone’s audio settings rather than providing an in-app equaliser.
The guide’s settings walkthrough gives Apple Music users a way to balance audio quality against data use and the capabilities of their playback equipment.
