Tidal confirms high-res FLAC support is coming to HiFi Plus subscribers in August

Tidal already offers subscribers of its premium tier, HiFi Plus, the option to download and listen to MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) tracks, but this specific format is inferior to high-res FLAC when it comes to sound quality. But that’s about to change, as Tidal has just confirmed that high-res FLAC support is coming to HiFi Plus subscribers as early as August.

The company’s CEO Jesse Dorogusker has taken to Reddit to make the announcement, offering iOS users who are enrolled in the Early Access Program the chance to try high-res FLAC (free lossless audio codec) earlier.



To access the new audio format, you’ll need to update your Tidal beta app and then select “Max” quality in the Audio & Playback settings menu. Once again, you can only choose FLAC if you’re on iOS and enrolled in Tidal’s Early Access Program.

Although there’s still at least one month until the feature will be available to all HiFi Plus subscribers, Tidal has already confirmed that as of today more than 6 million tracks are available to stream in high-res FLAC. The music streaming service announced that it’s working with distributors, labels, and artists to add even more tracks by the time FLAC support will become generally available and beyond.

Tidal recently announced a price increase for some of its plans, but the HiFi Plus tier wasn’t affected. Currently, music lovers must pay $20/month for the HiFi Plus tier or $11 (from $10) for the standard plan, which will not include access to FLAC streams.