A recent survey might have hinted at Spotify introducing HiFi streaming in the future
(Picture: David Švihovec/Unsplash)After cancelling their Premium subscription to the streaming service, a Reddit user shared images of a survey from Spotify that hints at the possibility of a Platinum tier featuring various new features.
For a cost of $19.99 (£17.50), they were asked if they would consider returning to Spotify in the next 30 days to gain access to HiFi and a range of other features, the user said.
If the survey is to be believed, the potential features could include:
- HiFi
- Studio Sound
- Headphone Tuner
- Audio Insights
- Library Pro
- Playlist Pro
- Limited ad-supported Spotify podcasts
This could be a sign that Spotify is toying with the idea of launching a second premium service that is double the price of its current subscription plan to include these features.
This is not the first time that the platform has hinted at HiFi. Last year, Spotify abandoned its plans for higher-quality audio when Amazon and Apple both wrapped it into their music platforms for free.
Adding the extra features such as a headphone tuner and limited ads during podcasts could be Spotify’s way of offering the feature at a higher cost as originally planned, but with lossless audio available on other platforms for free, it’s hard to see why people would want to switch.
The added benefits would have to be much more attractive than they seem at the moment. Otherwise, Spotify would be relying largely on convenience.
The streaming platform had an enormous 422 million unique users at the beginning of 2022, in comparison to Apple’s 88 million and Amazon’s 30.4 million.
While this means that many users wouldn’t want to switch away and prefer to stay with the platform that their friends use, it likely wouldn’t be enough to convince people to up their subscription costs.
At the moment, Spotify is apparently just collecting user research, so whatever they’re planning is probably still a way off.
