HomePod: Lossless support is coming
A lot of people were surprised that Apple doesn't have its own hardware on which to play Apple Music Lossless. Both the HomePod and AirPods are not supported. This will change in the future, as a support document shows that the HomePod and HomePod mini will receive a future software update for lossless music. You can then listen to the music in higher sound quality.
Apple Music Lossless will launch in June. If you have a HomePod or HomePod mini, then you have support for Dolby Atmos right from the start, so that the music sounds spatial. With the right equipment you can from that moment also listen to standard lossless (up to 48 kHz) and to hi-res losless (48 to 192 kHz). For the latter, you need external equipment, such as a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that you connect via USB.
So good news for HomePod owners, but what about the much larger group of AirPods users ? Unfortunately, that group seems to be left out. Apple's support document states that current Bluetooth connections do not support the higher quality that Apple Music Lossless offers. The AirPods Max won't support it either.
Lossless listening via cable
Apple says it is possible via cable is to listen to lossless. But then you don't get the best possible quality:
Apple writes:
The Lightning to 3.5mm audio cable is designed to connect AirPods Max to analog sources for listening to movies and music. AirPods Max can be connected to devices that play Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless recordings with exceptional audio quality. However, given the analog-to-digital conversion in the cable, the display will not be completely lossless.
Furthermore, the support document contains a large list of frequently asked questions, most of which you can already find in our Apple Music Lossless FAQ. Apple Music Losless will launch in June with more than 20 million lossless quality songs and thousands of songs with Dolby Atmos.