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Is Lossless Audio Draining Your Data Plan?
15 Sep
Summary
- Lossless audio uses significantly more data than high-quality streams.
- Estimated file sizes vary greatly by quality and conditions.
- Users should check settings before streaming over cellular data.
Apple Music's Lossless audio feature, while offering superior sound quality, comes with a significant increase in data usage. Users should be aware that streaming in Lossless format can consume several times more data than the standard high-quality setting. This data consumption is not fixed; it depends on the song's resolution, network conditions, and the audio equipment being used.
When Apple Music launched Lossless in 2021, it provided estimates for data usage. A typical three-minute track was estimated to be around 6MB in High Quality AAC, escalating to 36MB in Lossless ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), and a staggering 145MB in Hi-Res Lossless. ALAC compresses audio without losing data, hence the larger file sizes compared to lossy formats like AAC.
