According to information uncovered by MacRumors in the iOS 14.6 beta code, Apple plans to offer HiFi support in Apple Music for subscribers and those with compatible devices such as the AirPods Max.
In the first test version of the iOS 14.6 update, the Apple Music code mentions "lossless audio," "high quality stereo streaming," and "hiFi."The accompanying code indicates that the HiFi live stream may be limited to certain AirPods, such as AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and later models.
Presumably, HiFi support will also be available to users without AirPods, although it's unclear whether Apple will have hardware requirements for speakers, headphones, and the like to support HiFi Apple Music streaming.The wording like "route-incompatible" and "route-incompatible" suggests that, just as space audio is limited to AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, HiFi Apple Music Streamings may be limited to a certain generation of AirPods and other compatible devices.
Other code in the beta shows that Apple could add a dynamic way to Apple Music to switch between standard, compressed audio streams and high-fidelity sound quality.On the 5G-equipped iPhone12, Apple has a "smart data mode" that automatically switches between 5G and 4G/LTE connections based on the user's current needs, connection strength and battery life.
According to the code in the beta, Apple could take a similar approach to Apple Music's HiFi support, providing users with high-fidelity audio streams only when there is sufficient bandwidth or depending on other factors, such as the user's data consumption.
